Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion
Chapter 7: I can't swim?
"Shinji, pack your stuff, we're moving out. You don't have to go to school today, came Kaji Ryoji's excited voice just as Shinji finished making breakfast. It had been four days since the test – Asuka hadn't come back to school yet due to her suspension. Shinji spent some more time with Toji and Kensuke, while Asuka simply used the spare time to do more shopping. She needed to fill her wardrobe with clothing collection, after all.
"Huh? Moving out?" Shinji asked, raising his eyebrow, "you mean… we're gonna live elsewhere?" Even though it had been only four days, Shinji had been feeling somewhat empty inside without the company of the redhead. For four whole days he hadn't even seen her once – since he needed to go to school, and Gehirn didn't give the Children more tests. He wasn't sure about whether she felt the same way, but the prophesier's words were a big assurance. Still, he anticipated his relocation –
"Yup," Kaji confirmed with a smile, "we're going to live above the ground. This place - as nice as it is - is kinda stagnant. Not to mention the 40 minutes train ride every time getting in or out."
"Right," Shinji set up the table and put down the breakfast, which Kaji wasted no time starting to eat. "Thanks," he said, "you're welcome." Shinji replied, before digging into his own portion.
After breakfast both Kaji and Shinji started packing their own stuff. Shinji looked at his wardrobe that contained several sets of school uniforms, seven pairs of trousers and underwear of different kinds, some T-shirts, socks, and sleeping attires – all the clothing he got. The SDAT he and Asuka used for training laid on the table, its specially designed chip removed. Shinji kept it for his personal entertainment. All of his belongings, plus some manga and other gadgets, fitted well in a medium-sized delivery box.
As for Kaji it was a different story. The unshaven man clearly paid much more attention to his appearance than Shinji – he owned as many clothes as Misato's beer storage; the formal wears alone stuffed one of his wardrobes in his old apartment. This was another reason he's so eager to move out as soon as possible – Geofront's living quarters were small, he needed a real apartment so he could put all of his stuff together.
Shinji panted heavily as he and Kaji loaded their belongings onto the truck and got in Kaji's car, then the truck driver drove off to Kaji's old apartment to pick up his other stuff. "Where are we going?" Shinji asked as they waited in the car train.
"To our new home," Kaji replied with an expectant look, "take a guess! Where is it?"
The truth was Shinji had already had a rough idea and anticipation of where they were going, "Erm, we're going to live with Misato?" He didn't say Asuka since he didn't want to sound creepy – but it was the most logical conclusion from Kaji's expression and his own wishful thinking.
Kaji chuckled, "thinking about living with two young women, eh Shinji-kun? Not to mention one of them is who you like," he said with a sly grin, making Shinji blush, "close, but not entirely correct. We are going to live the next door."
Shinji wasn't really disappointed. His Japanese etiquette was telling him it's inappropriate to live with a girl his age in the same room, after all. The only reason he anticipated it was the fact that they were living together when they were still EVA pilots. "I see. I mean, one apartment has no enough space for four people, right?"
"Yup," Kaji answered, "actually, it was Asuka who demanded you living near them when…she heard that you'll be looking for a new place to live,"
The day after the test, Katsuragi Residence
"Kaji! What the hell are you doing here?!" Misato opened the door and saw the unshaven spy, "I don't have time to deal with you, you know!"
"I'm hurt," Kaji said with his classic lady-killing smile, to which Misato simply snorted – she had seen him do this numerous times and already developed resistance, "however, I'm here for some actual business," seeing Misato's glare softened, he continued, "I'm looking for an apartment to live in, since the accommodation is so small. I can barely put half of my clothes there."
"Well, most of the rooms in this apartment building are empty – actually, Gehirn had already bought the whole complex, and this building will be Gehirn employees exclusive soon," Misato said, "for safety reasons."
"Wait, Thir-Shinji's finding a new place to live?" Came the redhead, wearing a casual outfit, "actually, you guys can live the next door."
Kaji was also thinking about the same thing; however, he wanted to know the reasons behind the redhead's enthusiasm. He wouldn't want that Asuka wanted them to live the next door just because she would have more time to flirt with Kaji. "Well, what for?" He asked.
Asuka's eyes wandered around, "well, it's simple. Misato's cooking is shit, and I'm sick eating takeout every day, not to mention I have to eat cafeteria junk in school. Since Shinji is a good cook, I reckon it would be convenient to have him living the next door, nothing more!" She looked in Misato's direction, who murmured an inaudible retort.
Kaji was professional in reading people's thoughts through their tone and facial expression – but Asuka was hard to read. He could sense she was partially honest in her reasons, but there were more to it which she didn't want to admit. Nonetheless, Kaji was relieved that she wasn't using her sweet schoolgirl tone when talking to him, as well as not trying to get his attention through – for example, 'accidentally' showing some cleavage. "Well, fair enough," he said, turning around, "I'll make the arrangements as soon as possible."
Shinji raised an eyebrow hearing Kaji's words, "she…actively…I mean, she asked for that?" His dense brain didn't know what it meant, but he was sure this wasn't a bad sign, "why would she do that?"
Kaji chuckled, "well, I'd say she really likes you," he looked at Shinji with an unreadable expression, "I suppose you know what she did to the boys in the school. I've read some of the reports I got from Misato," his eyes narrowed just by a little bit, "say, Shinji, what did you do? Did you cast spells on her? Even me had hard times comprehending her behavior," he said with a tingle of confusion, "what did you do to change her from trying to murder you to actively pushing closer to you?"
Shinji sweatdropped, 'I can't just say I had help from a God, can I? I mean, if I acted like myself, she would probably have murdered me already,' he sighed internally, "I… don't know? It's not a bad thing, is it?"
"From what I can see, she's genuine at wanting to get closer to you," Kaji replied, "I'm not sure how far she wants to go, though."
They reached the surface, and Kaji drove the car onto the road. It was a sunny mid-May day, people jogged along both sides of the street as working hours were getting closer. Shinji and Kaji chatted about other stuff as they drove closer to Misato's apartment building.
Kaji's driving was a bit more subdued, but still more reckless than Shinji would have liked. Kaji pulled into the parking lot with an elegant drift that rivaled Baby Driver. Shinji grabbed his bag that had his entertainment stuff in it and headed to their apartment with Kaji.
"Hey, Baka," Asuka greeted him when Shinji walked to his apartment door, "you'd better not slack off on today's lunch – your cooking is…acceptable," she said halfheartedly and entered her apartment.
Shinji wasn't even able to greet back – he felt tightness in his chest at Asuka's cold attitude. He sighed and entered his own apartment to clean up – the delivery could be here at any moment.
Asuka closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. Damn, how could the great Asuka Langley Soryu be nervous about something so trivial? She was always confident and committal! She didn't know why she asked Kaji to bring Shinji to live next to her and Misato. Maybe she only wanted to have good food every day. Maybe she wanted to get closer to Shinji, like he said – to help him. Maybe she needed his help. Maybe they could start a-
The Asuka Train of Thought derailed before it could approach the romantic relationship station. She had never thought about it before except Kaji – and that was out of the window now. She didn't exactly grow out of it – she still thought this Kaji handsome and manly, but she knew she had zero chance. Not to mention her crush on Kaji was mainly caused by him taking care of her – his appearance and maturity were just bonus points. Since this Kaji didn't seem like care about her, then she might as well move on. If she continued to try to flirt with him, he might start to avoid her – she reckoned they could at least be on friendly terms.
However, that particular thought had been nagging her for the past few days - about a specific boy. She didn't know what was going on in her mind – it's not like they knew each other for a long time! They just met each other for a bit more than a week! She had her dignity!
'Don't lie to yourself,' a voice in her head sounded, 'how many times do I need to repeat? You met each other before. You were EVA pilots. You two probably shared the most part of the nine months of memory you both lost. The comfort you always feel around him? It's possibly caused by that.'
Asuka sighed in defeat. 'What do I want him to be?'
XXXXXX
Kaji and Shinji settled in their new apartment, with Kaji having the master bedroom while Shinji got the smaller one. They've both got windows and good ventilation, as well as built-in wardrobes. The delivery truck came hours later, and the duo moved their belongings into their room with the help of Misato and Asuka. Asuka was reluctant to help at first, but she changed her idea after a conversation with Shinji.
"Asuka! You aren't even carrying the big boxes! Just a little help is fine!" said Kaji, frustrated by the attitude of the redhead. He thought she was changing for better after she actively asked Shinji to move to the next door, but it seemed he was wrong.
"Why should I? It's not my stuff," Asuka retorted; in fact, she didn't really want to antagonize Kaji, but she was kinda lazy to help to move the boxes. Suddenly she thought of a way to resolve the situation while benefitting herself, "hey Shinji," the called boy turned his attention to her, "I will help you…if you make what I want for today's lunch, sounds fair?"
Shinji gave a small smile, "sure. What do you want, Asuka?"
"Can you make German dishes? Do you know what's Sauerkraut?" Asuka asked, clapping her hands together in anticipation, "I really want to have this today."
"Well, I only know how to make Baumkuchen," Shinji said, embarrassed, "and I don't know what Sauerkraut even is."
Asuka raised an eyebrow, "wait, you know how to make Baumkuchen?" Seeing Shinji nodded slowly, she continued, "well, I want that as well! As for Sauerkraut, it's just German pickled cabbage," she explained.
"Oh, I can make that," Shinji smiled, "so I make Sauerkraut for lunch, and Baumkuchen in the afternoon, you help me move my belongings - deal?"
"Deal," Asuka said happily, "I'm looking forward to it, don't disappoint me. Or someone will get hurt," She said half-threateningly, walking to the stack of boxes.
Kaji watched the whole ordeal and smiled an invisible smile, "She can be nice when she wants to be… you're right, Shinji, she's very interesting. I'll see what I can do to help you."
With the help of an enthusiastic redhead, four people quickly finished the job and went to do their respective things. Shinji immediately started making lunch since noon was approaching, Asuka went to play her newly bought console, Kaji tried to flirt with Misato, who did everything she could to ignore him.
To Shinji's surprise his first time making Sauerkraut went as well as it could be. It's like he knew exactly when to do what, as well as the portioning of condiments. He felt the process was somehow engraved in his subconscious.
"Hm, not half bad," Asuka commented after the first bite – in fact, she was flabbergasted by the food. It was just her tsun in the way preventing her from saying how she truly felt.
Which was amazing.
"I'm glad you like it, Asuka," Shinji smiled a small smile, "and thanks for the help again."
Misato and Kaji complimented his cooking as well, in a more enthusiastic way. Shinji felt good to be praised.
Misato gave Kaji a spare keycard to her apartment, who reciprocated. Although one could climb over the balcony to the other side, it was too dangerous to do so. Misato strictly prohibited such behavior, much to Asuka's dissatisfaction. Not that she's going to listen, though.
XXXXXX
Thursday morning
"…nji! Get up!"
Shinji slowly opened his eyes – and had a strange feeling. He was alone in the room when he fell asleep last night, but now he could feel the presence of another person. His shoulder was being clutched and shook by somebody, and said person had blue eyes and red hair, which emitted a faint smell of strawberry shampoo-
"Asuka?!" Shinji almost cried out and was silenced by a finger put on his lips instantly. "Don't shout! They're still sleeping!"
Shinji nodded, and Asuka removed her finger, "what are you doing here?" He asked, confused. "What's the time now?"
"6 a.m., half an hour before your alarm sounds," Asuka replied.
"How did you get here?" Shinji frowned, surprised that the redhead was willing to get up so early, "what are you doing here early in the morning?" He asked, yawning.
"I…climbed over the balcony," Asuka said with a small blush due to embarrassment. The reason she came to his room was after she came to Shinji's room's balcony, she simply wanted to find something to do. Asuka didn't know what drove her here; maybe it's because today's her first day returning to school and she could have a walking mate on the way there, maybe it's because she wanted to prank the poor boy. But sometimes people didn't need reasons to do stupid things.
"WHAT?!" Shinji shouted in a whisper, his sleepiness completely gone, "it's dangerous! What if-"
"I get it!" Asuka cut him off, "that's why I'm doing it this early when Misato and Kaji are all sound asleep! I was just curious, okay? I am careful!"
"Asuka…" Shinji started, "I might have to tell Misato about this."
"Don't. You. Dare," Asuka said in a dangerously low voice, "alright, I'll go back now. Forget what you saw or heard this morning, am I clear?"
"Fine…but promise me you won't try this again," Shinji said in a stern voice. When he said that, he was simply concerned about Asuka's safety, nothing more.
Perhaps Asuka saw his concern, or she was surprised by his serious tone, she didn't retort or fight back, instead, she simply said, "alright. I promise. I'll go back now." She stood up and walked to the balcony.
"Asuka!" Shinji got out of the bed and followed Asuka to the balcony, ignoring the cool breeze in the morning. Irritated, he said, "you just promised!"
"I know! I know!" Asuka sighed but flattered by how far he was willing to go to make sure she's safe, "but I need to go back unnoticed, right? I promise this is the last time! I'll be careful!" She then climbed over to the other side and smirked, "see? I told you it's nothing."
"Fine," Shinji sighed again, "well, since I'm awake now, I'll go start making breakfast. Is there anything specific you want?"
"Hm, anything you cook would be good, I just don't want instant food," Asuka replied, eliciting a small blush from Shinji, "it's my first day back to school and I don't want to be late, so quickly get to work!"
"Hai." Shinji gave Asuka a last concerned look before retreating to his apartment.
XXXXXX
"Hurry up Baka, or I'm leaving without you!" Asuka waited impatiently in the corridor, tapping her foot, her school bag hung over her shoulder. She didn't exactly miss school since she didn't really know anyone there, but she knew she had a lot to catch up on for the week-long suspension. Not to mention she could finally spend more time with Sh-
'Since when I started missing his company? Gods I'm hopeless,' she pushed the emergency stop button of her Train of Thought.
"I'm coming Asuka," came Shinji's hurried voice.
The two teenagers left the bus at their usual stop. The morning was, as usual in mid-May Japan, quite cool; Shinji was wondering about the abnormally low temperature since in his memory Japan was nothing but hot all year long. He shivered and pulled up his collar as a cool breeze blew past him. Then he remembered in this new world Second Impact didn't happen, so the climate would certainly be different.
Asuka, on the other hand, was totally unimpressed with the weather. In fact, she welcomed it with literal open arms – the last few days were uncomfortably hot, and she witnessed what cold weather could be like in Germany.
On the way to school the duo rarely talked to each other since none could find any topic that they shared a mutual interest. As they approached the school gate, several people raised their eyebrows at the reappearance of the redhead as well as her new company, but none made any comment, dreading the redheaded wrath.
"Princess! You're back!" Mari squealed delightfully as she saw Asuka and Shinji in the hallway, "oh, he is your little puppy, isn't he? Hi Mr. Shikinami!" She greeted Shinji.
"M-Mr. Shikinami?" Shinji frowned, then blushed as he realized what Mari meant, "I-we aren't-"
"Sure you aren't," Mari said in a teasing tone, "but you two act and sound like one! Where were you guys last Friday and Saturday? Surely you weren't doing anything naughty!"
Asuka blushed a faint blush but quickly composed herself, "we didn't do anything improper, no matter what you are implying! We were just training together for some stupid Gehirn business!"
Mari laughed a little, "you're just too much fun to tease with, princess."
Asuka narrowed her eyes and shot Mari an intense glare before entering the classroom, Shinji following closely behind. Sensei came in moments later, Hikair stood up and shouted "Rise! Bow! Sit!" as usual.
"Hello class, before we start today, I have an announcement to make," Nebukawa sensei adjusted his glasses, "the school planned a trip to Okinawa next week. Everybody without health issues is going."
The class exploded into cheers and applauds, even Asuka seemed to be happy, "yes! I got to go scuba diving!" She turned to Shinji, "you know what this means, right Shinji?"
"Wh-what does it mean?" He asked in obliviousness.
Asuka facepalmed internally at his density, "it means we get to have fun!" 'With you,' a voice in her mind added, making her cheeks heat up, and an affectionate smile that appeared on Shinji's face didn't help the matter.
"Well, I've never been to a beach before, so I can't imagine what it will be like," Shinji replied with uneasiness, scratching the back of his head.
"Hmm, I've been to some beaches back in Germany, but I was too young to have all the fun," Asuka said, eyes wandering to the roof as she recalled her mother bringing her to a beach, "and now I can finally do most of the things I want!"
"Like?" Shinji asked curiously.
"Anta Baka?" Asuka huffed, "diving! Of course," she said, "and you know, beach volleyball, all that stuff."
"Ah," Shinji gulped at the mention of diving since he didn't know how to swim, "I'll just have fun on the beach, then."
"No you are not!" Asuka raised her volume, wondering what in the world the boy she started to have feelings for was thinking about, "you're going with ME!"
She failed to contain her volume and her voice drew many curious and jealous looks around the class. Asuka shot back a threatening glare, and they immediately went back to their former conversation partners.
"Erm, but I, I can't-"
"You can't swim?" Asuka interrupted in a lower volume, saving Shinji's face.
"Y-yeah," Shinji admitted with clear embarrassment.
"Phew, I thought you have Aquaphobia or something," Asuka smirked, "well, it's much easier this way. I'll teach you how to swim."
"But-"
"No buts, Third!" Asuka cut him off, "I'm feeling extremely generous today, and rejecting my offer would be rude and met with blood," she threatened.
"Al-alright then," Shinji swallowed, having no idea of what he just got himself into. Asuka could be really convincing when she sets her mind.
XXXXXX
"You. Me. The mall. 5 p.m.," Asuka said before entering her apartment, "objections?"
"Erm, I suppose you want me to go shopping with you? What for?" Shinji asked, confused.
"Anta Baka? I need to get new swimsuits! Haven't got time to buy any since I came here," Asuka sighed at his obliviousness, "and you need swimsuits as well as some new clothes. What you have now is…discreditable," she complained, "since you're going with me, the great Asuka, you are going to dress up a little. Have some fashion! Or I'll make you," she finished with an intimidating remark.
Shinji blushed at the thought of seeing Asuka wearing a bikini, "Wha-t? I… It's so embarrassing! I'm a boy, and we are not like…together or something! You should do this with other girls! How about Mari? She seems friendly with you," Although he really wanted to go, his etiquette was preventing him from accepting the offer outright. He didn't want Asuka to regard him as a pervert, which he thought would very likely happen if he accepted her offer immediately.
"Hmph, you are so boring! Boys would kill for such an opportunity! Also, don't get wrong ideas! Be a good friend and accept my offer. You'll help me carry the bags," Asuka hastily explained, thinking if she pushed too far. She'd never get used to Japanese social etiquette.
"You…think of me as a good friend?" Shinji suddenly asked after a few seconds of silence, his face showing genuine happiness and surprise.
Asuka's face went through a series of expressions: from confusion, to hurt, to angry, back to confusion, to grin, to settle once more on confusion. Finally, she let out a sigh and spoke up. "Third. You're just…impossible. You're silent and unproblematic most of the time, but when you drop a bomb…" She paused and pondered for a moment, then continued, "I'll put it in this way: I don't know why or how, but you're one of the very few people I feel comfortable around with. Is this enough for you?" In fact, she was only comfortable around the former Kaji, her deceased momma, Misato Katsuragi, and Shinji Ikari.
Shinji's smile grew wider and he nodded, "t-thanks Asuka." He felt ecstatic inside as he finally made sure he had made real progress in getting closer to the redhead whom God asked him to approach and whom he had grown fond of. "I'll go with you then."
One hour later
Shinji had kept a dejected expression on his face along the way just like any other man would when shopping with girls. Asuka, on the other hand, was looking happy. "Hey, Baka, we are here."
Shinji turned his head, just to look at a whole store of revealing swimsuits. He immediately blushed and turned around, "Err, Asuka, you can go get what you want. I…I will be waiting for you outside."
Asuka pouted, "Fine, whatever." She walked into the store and wandered around. She firstly chose a pair of blue and black swim trunks as well as fashionable beach pants for Shinji; then she started picking her own swimsuits. Minutes passed and Asuka still couldn't find a satisfactory one. Then her eyes settled on a set of bikinis with white and red stripes on it. For some unspoken reason, she fell in love with it the instant she saw it. She put on the swimsuit in the changing room, came out, and called to Shinji. "Shinji! What do you think about this one?"
Shinji reluctantly turned his head around, but once he set his eyes on her, his gaze couldn't move an inch. Asuka's body was perfect in that swimsuit. His face blushed so red that would make Asuka's Unit 02 ashamed.
Asuka was clearly satisfied with his reaction. She turned away with a faint smile on her face, walking into the changing room. After a minute or so, Asuka came out wearing her blue shirt and jeans. "Shinji, let's go get some decent clothes for you!"
"Ah, yes Asuka," Shinji shook his head, trying to clear his perverted thoughts, "well, what do you want to get for me?"
"Emmm, some stylish t-shirts, a pair of jeans…at least something different. I don't want to go out with you wearing some boring school uniform!" Asuka crossed her arms around her chest, pouting.
"As…you wish," Shinji said, following the redhead to the men's clothing section. Our favorite pair could see other students from their school in the mall, seemingly all here to prepare for the upcoming trip to Okinawa. Some of them noticed the pair – most of them ignored Shinji and Asuka and went on to their own business, some of the boys looked jealous, while other boys silently saluted to Shinji, as if saying 'good luck, pal.'
Looking down at the bags hung on his arms, Shinji sighed internally. 'I really hope it'll be worth it…'
XXXXXX
"Bye kids! Try not to have too much fun!" Misato waved the Children goodbye as they got in Kaji's black Cadillac SUV, which carried Shinji and Asuka's baggage. The last few days went quite normally for the Children; Asuka enjoyed Shinji's cooking but not admitting it. The prophesier even came to Shinji one night and taught him a few tips dealing with Asuka after he mentioned their trip to Okinawa. For some reason unknown to Shinji, the prophesier sounded almost envious at that.
"Why aren't you and Kaji-san coming?" Asuka rolled the window down, peeking out her head, "we'll have so much fun!"
"Nah, I'll just hang out with Kaji during these days," Misato replied, "this is a school trip, I'll let you kids have fun by yourselves, alright? No Gehirn business spoiling anything for you!"
"Hmph, a few days ago you were on his throat all the time! What changed?" said Asuka with a smirk, "I bet you aren't coming so that you two can have the apartment all by yourselves! Ewwww! You adults are so indecent!"
Misato's face flushed, "IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT! It's just we live near, and it's convenient, that's all! And we are NOT doing anything indecent, no matter what you're imagining!"
Asuka snorted, not believing a single character in her speech, "sure, sure. Anyways, have fun with your dear Kaji-san. He's really worth it."
Kaji, on the driver's seat, and Misato both blinked in surprise. 'Is she really the girl I met last last week? Hmm, I guess people do change.' He thought with an internal smile while Misato said, "who are you and what did you do to the real Asuka?"
"I killed her, grounded her, and replaced her with myself, a perfect doppelgänger", she hissed as inhumanly as she could, "what, have any problems with that?"
"Not at all Asuka." Misato chuckled, "It's just good to see you're getting back to normal."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Asuka snapped, upper body sticking out the window, "are you saying that there was something wrong with me?!"
"No, no, no!" Misato quickly raised her hands up to her defense as if to shield herself from Asuka's barrage. "I didn't mean it like that!"
"Oh you didn't, did you?" The redhead growled, throwing a crumpled paper ball at her guardian, "Then what did you mean by that?"
"Just drop it, alright?!" Misato sighed, "you guys better get going! You don't wanna miss the plane, do you?"
A quick glance at the clock validated Misato's concern. "Hmph, there will be hell to pay when I come back, Misato!" She patted the driver's seat, "let's go Kaji!"
"Hai, Hai, my highness," Kaji stepped on the acceleration pedal and the SUV sped down the street, its direction to Tokyo-3 International Airport.
One hour later
"Here's your boarding pass, sir, have a nice trip." The smiling check-in staff handed Shinji his ticket along with his Gehirn ID card, raising an eyebrow when she first saw it but made no comments. Shinji thanked her and grabbed his stuff before heading to the exit. Asuka was there waiting for him. "Hey Baka," she greeted as she saw him approaching, "where's your seat?"
"Hm, let me check," Shinji took out his boarding pass and read it, "it says 36-B. what's yours?" He asked with anticipation.
Asuka's mood lowered hearing his words, "too bad. I got 31-C, I was hoping to sit with you," she blushed a little after she realized what she just blurted out without too much thinking, "don't think too much about it! I just don't want to be squeezed by people I don't know, that's all!" She pondered for a moment, "well Baka, send a message for me in our class's group chat!" One thing that the Children liked about the new world was smartphones as well as instant message applications.
"Erm, why won't you do it by yourself? I mean, you've got your smartphone at hand, right?" Shinji asked, confused.
"Just do it! I'll explain later," Asuka said forcefully.
Shinji sighed in defeat and took out his Samsung, "what do you want to say?"
"'Who sits at 31-B and 31-D'," said Asuka.
"Alright," Shinji's confusion only grew more hearing her request. There were already several people asking about seat arrangements in the group chat, so Shinji thought at least his question wouldn't look odd. He typed the words and sent them the group chat.
Few seconds later people responded.
Takumi: I sit at 31-B
Otaga: I'm at 31-D
Asuka felt nauseous seeing the names. The Takumi guy once tried to grope her in the hallway when no one's watching – although it costed him a trip to the local hospital it didn't sooth Asuka's anger and disgust by a bit. What's worse, that guy was supposed to be the hot catch for almost all girls in the school since he was moderately handsome and played good basketball – so Asuka's attitude towards him had started another round of rumors, such as 'the redhead is into her own sex' or 'the Shikinamis are indeed married.' Takumi's charms had brought him endless fan-girls and backup girlfriends. However, Asuka saw right through him – he's just some perverted womanizer, nothing more.
'How fucking unlucky,' she thought bitterly, 'there's NO WAY I'm sitting beside that piece of shit. Wait, actually, I can utilize his reputation to help me get out of this…'
"Ask who sits around you, Shinji," Asuka, determined to avoid encountering Takumi by any means – not that she dreaded the challenge, she was simply disgusted by that person – formed a plan in her head.
"Okay," Shinji typed and sent the message.
To Asuka's relief a girl would be sitting next to Shinji. She remembered her name and tried to send her a PM using her own smartphone: 'Hello, Akari-san-'
She stopped typing since she forgot how to type the next word. She hadn't learned all the kanji yet. Asuka groaned in frustration – it was one of the reasons why she asked Shinji to send the message for her. The other reason was she didn't want people to know where she sits – and that had proven to be the right choice.
"Shinji, type a message for me," seeing no other way to do this, Asuka reluctantly turned to Shinji for help.
"Um, yes?"
Asuka handed him her phone, "alright, 'Akari-san, can we exchange seats?'"
Shinji gave her a puzzled look, "Akari-san? Doesn't she sit next to me?" He put two and two together and blushed a faint blush, "wait…you want to sit with me?"
Asuka blushed a little as well – this was another reason why she was reluctant to ask Shinji for help – the main reason was she didn't want Shinji to know she couldn't type kanji, and that would mean showing her weakness. "Listen, don't think too much about it! It's just you are the least painful company among all others!" She paused for a moment as a dreaded realization dawned on her, "unless…you don't want to sit with me?" She asked just above a whisper.
"Wh-what? Of course not, I mean – yes, no, I mean-" Shinji stammered incoherent words, to which Asuka chuckled, "I'll take that as 'no, of course I don't not want to sit with you,' and 'yes, I will sit next to you.'"
Shinji smiled, surprised at how far Asuka was willing to go to spend time with him. "Al-alright, I'll send the message."
A minute later he got a reply: 'Hello Shikinami-san, where do you sit?'
'I sit next to Takumi' Shinji replied as instructed by Asuka.
To her satisfaction, the girl immediately replied: 'Oh that's great! I'd love to exchange my seat with you!'
Asuka couldn't help but grin widely, 'Heh, girls…you are hopeless,' she thought with amusement.
The duo boarded the Japan Air Boeing 737 and sat on their seats. Asuka was a little unsatisfied since she didn't get to sit the window seat, "It's boring sitting next to the aisle," she complained. Nevertheless, she was more than happy to sit next to Shinji – at least she had someone she was comfortable interacting with.
The plane took off with the engines roaring – the moisture in the air created mesmerizing contrails that dragged behind the wingtips. The whole flight would take about 3 hours, and in the meantime, Asuka just chatted random stuff with the boy sitting next to her. One hour later they both drained the pool of conversation topics, and Shinji took out manga to read while Asuka played her console. Another half an hour or so later, after the sixth death on a particular mission, Asuka finally reached her limit of patience.
"Hey Baka," she patted the boy beside her, who put the mange he was reading and looked at her, "yes Asuka?" He spoke.
"I'm bored."
XXXXXX
It turned out that nothing good would ever take place when Asuka got bored. Shinji spent the rest of the flight giving her a lesson in advanced kanji – he also promised to give her more lessons later. "Consider it payback for my offer to teach you to swim," she said, not admitting the truth was that she needed help.
The hotel desk clerk raised an eyebrow as she saw Shinji and Asuka's ID; moments later, she handed the children two keycards with '312' written on both of them. "Wait, WHAT THE HELL?" Asuka cried as the realization dawned on her, "HOW AM I LIVING IN THE SAME ROOM AS HIM?!"
The clerk frowned, "well, considering you are married-"
"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Asuka's roof-breaking volume attracted the female sensei's attention, and she walked over to check the situation. At the same time, Shinji wanted nothing more than to dig a hole in the ground and vanish. "What's wrong?"
"WE'RE NOT LIVING IN THE SAME ROOM!" Asuka shouted, showing the keycards to the teacher. Although she was okay living with Shinji during their training session, and she trusted him to not do anything perverted – he passed the test, after all - it was still inappropriate for them to publicly live together, much less in a hotel. The rumors were never going to stop if her classmates knew it.
Hanako-sensei chuckled nervously, "right, we don't allow boys and girls to live on the same floor," she explained to the clerk, "so assign different rooms for them. Please."
The clerk looked like wanting to say something but wisely shut up as Asuka shot her a threatening glare. Minutes later she started, "there's only a double room with a king-sized bed left, room 412, directly above 312," she said, "so you two have to pay for the fee of both double rooms."
Shinji and Asuka looked at each other, then shrugged. Gehirn's salary for them was more than enough for them to not care about things as trivial as this one. They paid the money and picked up the luggage before heading to the elevator.
They greeted each other goodnight before Asuka exited the elevator on the third floor where all the girls lived. Janitors were assigned to make sure no one would sneak out of their rooms during the nights. Both Shinji and Asuka stared at the unfamiliar ceiling in remote-synchronization before drifting into sleep.
XXXXXX
'Don't let her see you staring…' That was all Shinji could think about Asuka's choice of swimwear. The red bikini with a tie-dye cover-up, and it took every ounce of willpower to keep his focus on her eyes. Not that other boys on the beach were doing better than him. Mari's didn't seem any better – she loved showing off her assets to boys.
Much to Asuka's satisfaction, Shinji seemed to focus on her exclusively – she would be offended if she caught him staring at any girls other than her. Asuka couldn't help but frown at her thoughts. Since when she started craving Shinji's attention so much? And why would she feel her stomach knots, thinking about him looking at other girls?
"So Shinji, when are your two stooges supposed to show up?" Asuka asked with a grin.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure they'll be here later, I told them to show up around eleven," Shinji replied, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Asuka, "What? Why so late? I thought you want to spend time with your so-called friends," she said in an unreadable tone.
Shinji gulped as he thought he might be stepping into a minefield, so he decided to speak his heart, "well… It's not that you're taking my time against my will, or anything", Shinji objected. "And I prefer…y-your company to theirs, to be honest. Not that they're…bad, or anything."
"I suppose you have good taste," Asuka said with a smile in the corner of her mouth, "Anyways, wanna swim now? I said I'll teach you, and you promised to learn!"
"Sure, just… don't push me so hard," Shinji smiled an uneasy smile.
"It's no problem, I'll control my pace!" Asuka smiled, "Now, just get your asses moving! We can't go scuba diving if you don't know how to swim!"
Shinji quickly got up from the baking sand and grabbed his swimwear. After few minutes, he came back to the beach, and Asuka was already in the sea, waiting for him.
"Now, Shinji, tell me how much you know about swimming?"
"Well, I don't really know much other than lying in the water floating."
"It's good for an untrained boy like you to have an athletic me nearby, don't you think? Now get down here, lie in the water, face up. I don't want seawater damaging your eyes! Don't worry! I will support you!"
Shinji sighed and walked into the sea until the water reached his waist. Seeing how reluctant he was, Asuka grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the water.
Shinji's whole body shivered at the sudden contact with cold water but soon adjusted. He felt relieved as his feet touched the sand.
"Now, get your feet off the ground! Which part of 'lying in the water facing up' you don't understand?" Asuka raised her volume, putting her right hand at Shinji's abdomen, her left hand at his chest, lifting Shinji up. The buoyance of water offset a major part of his weight so that Asuka could support him with ease.
Shinji, on the other hand, was promptly starting to feel uncomfortable in his pants, as his hormones started raging under the sensation of Asuka's smooth hands pressing against his body. He quickly calmed down by visualizing a naked Commander Ikari. The side effect, though, was he felt he wanted to puke.
Just as he wondered in his own thought-world, Asuka retreated her hands slowly, trying not to make Shinji notice. And he did not. Asuka was happy that Shinji could still keep floating on himself. That's a good start.
XXXXXX
The first day on the beach was fun, to say the least. Shinji had made enormous progress during the day's training session given by the coach Asuka – much to both of their surprise. Shinji could already swim for one hundred meters in water without the need to rest. Of course, none of them knew it was his muscle memory inherited from the former Shinji.
However, apparently the God of Weather wasn't in a good mood in the late afternoon. The storm came unexpectedly, and the temperature dropped off a cliff.
Asuka laid in her bed, having woken up from a nightmare about her mother half an hour ago, unable to sleep due to the chilling temperature. What's worse, the air-conditioning in her room wasn't working – that she would file a customer complaint tomorrow. She tossed and turned in the bed for hours, tightly wrapped in the thin sheet she was provided. The huge French windows did little to help to contain the precious warmth from slipping away, if not accelerating it.
She balled her fists and glanced at the clock again. 23:48. 'Fuck no. I don't need to freeze myself to death right now…and I don't need another nightmare.' She took a long breath, held it, and released it slowly, her hand pressed against her stomach. The tensed muscles relaxed just a bit. Repeating the process helped – but not enough to let her fall asleep. There was an insidious, treacherous voice whispering in her head: 'Go to him. He would not mind…What do you have to lose? You don't need to be alone.'
'I have my standards!' Asuka tried to squash the voice, 'he'll think too much about it!'
'No, he would never. He cares about you. Have you already forgotten how he acted when you dropped down on his bed during the last night of your sync training? He has restraints. No one could ever resist something like that – the last person was Kaji.' The voice insisted.
'Fuck that', Asuka hit the mattress with her fist. 'Fuck it all. If he…oversteps the boundaries, I'll just straight murder him. I'm not stupid, I'm not going to die of thirst on a bank of a river.'
Asuka sprang out of bed and put on some thick clothes. A glance at the thermometer confirmed her suspicions – 9 Celsius degrees, caused by the combined effect of the storm and the lack of sunlight. She carefully opened the door the corridor –
"Where are you going so late?" A voice came to her, freezing her on the spot, "go back to your room before I report you to the teachers!"
Asuka sighed and closed the door behind her. 'What now?' She thought. She walked over to French windows and opened the door to the balcony. Asuka stepped out and leaned on the railings, staring at the cloud-covered sky.
Suddenly something mounted on the wall beside her caught her attention.
The maintenance ladders.
The iron ladders were nothing more than some rusty steel rods loosely installed on the wall, presumably for fixing the ventilation system. Looking up she found the ladders could lead to the balcony above hers – the balcony of Shinji's room.
"Fuck", she whispered, "Fuck, fuck, fuck", she hit the railings with her fist. A great battle was raging inside her. On one side, there were: her body, shivering in the cold air, eager to be held; part of her mind, fearful of nightmares; another part of her mind, saying that Shinji would do nothing wrong; her loneliness, whispering about the simple pleasure of having Shinji close by.
On the other, outnumbered and slowly giving up their grounds, were: yet another part of her mind, telling her it would be dangerous to climb the old and rusty ladders; her pride, unwilling to let her appear needy.
Somewhere, scattered across the battlefield were notions crashed by the previous assaults: notion of propriety telling her a girl should not share a bed with a boy at this age, beaten by the simple retort that they already did and he didn't do anything wrong; her fear of Janitors or other students catching them, defeated soundly by her confidence of getting back to her room before sunrise; her worry about him getting too bold, murdered by a mix of trust and shameful desire that she might not really object if he tried.
Another cold gust of wind blew past her, sending another shiver to her body. Asuka clenched her teeth – her stomach growled as she used too many calories to maintain her body temperature. 'I go to him, or freeze and starve to death,' although it was a farfetched exaggeration, she needed it to make up her mind.
Without hesitating for another second, Asuka grabbed the ladder, lifting herself off the balcony.
XXXXXX
"Hello again, Shinji," the cloaked prophesier appeared in the void, "have you had a good day with Asuka?"
"Um, you could say that, yeah," Shinji replied with a smile, "I mean, I had fun with her, and she seemed happy, too."
"Good," although the prophesier could see what happened by his own eyes, he still wanted to know how Shinji himself felt about it, "do you have any questions?"
"Um, not now, not really," Shinji replied after pondering for a moment, "thanks for your guidance, by the way. I really wouldn't have come so far if it wasn't you."
The prophesier chuckled, "no need. Helping you is helping me as well, in some way," he exercised the technically true maneuver, "alright, if you don't have any questions – I'll leave you by yourself tonight. Have a good dr-wait what the hell is she doing?"
Shinji frowned, "Wha-"
"OH MY GOD SHINJI WAKE UP!" The prophesier suddenly shouted, his voice almost desperate.
"What's going on?" Shinji asked, bewildered.
"WAKE UP AND HELP HER OR SHE'S GONNA DIE!"
The prophesier's last word was like a starting pistol. Shinji shot open his eyes and bolted upright, his heart pounding. 'Asuka's gonna die?! Wtf does that even-'
His thoughts were interrupted by a series of groans and gasps – definitively female voices – Asuka – from the balcony. Shinji dashed to the balcony, threw the door open, and rushed outside. Hastily looking in the direction of the voice, he found the girl in his dreams, the redhead he might've been falling in love with, the loud and noisy ball of fire who pushed him like no one else – was hanging on a piece of a broken metal rod with one hand for dear life.
"ASUKA!" Shinji cried and dashed forward, stretching out his hand to the girl. Asuka looked up, "Shinji!" She said with surprise and relief, "help me!"
A part of Shinji was very confused by the situation Asuka was in – how in the world did she end up like this? He shook it off since he had a much more pressing matter at hand. He tried his best to lean out as much as possible, but Asuka was too far down to reach him.
And her hands were slipping away from her last life-saving straw.
Without too much thinking, Shinji climbed over the railings, his right hand gripping tightly on the edge of the balcony, his other hand reaching down to Asuka.
"What do you think you're doing, idiot?!" Asuka questioned his intelligence, yet tears were threatening to come out from the corner of her eyes, "you can't pull both of us up!"
"Sorry! No time to think!" Shinji stretched down again, getting a strong grip of Asuka's wrist this time, just before the tortured metal broke and fell down.
Shinji tried to pull himself and Asuka up – and predictably failed. In fact, he wasn't even able to stay hanging on the edge of the balcony much longer.
"Drop me, Shinji, or we're both gonna fall!" Asuka said with a shaking voice, tears already freely rolling down her face. "It's only the fourth floor; two broken legs are at worst! If we both fall you may actually crush me to death!"
"I…will…not let you go!" Shinji said in a voice so low that could freeze Mt. Asama –
"Idiot! You don't have D-Type equipment! How are you gonna get out?" Asuka asked with a mix of anger and worry.
"Hadn't thought that far. But If the battery runs out, the muscle will still lock on." Shinji said, his voice indifferent.
'I'll save you… I'll save you… I'LL SAVE YOU!' If someone stood on the balcony that time, they would be intimidated by Shinji – by his glowing eyes.
Shinji mustered all his willpower and focused on one thought. Suddenly he felt a wave of strength surge through his body as he lifted Asuka up to a height just enough for her to grip onto the railings. She pulled herself up and grabbed Shinji's wrists, helping him up as well.
The Children laid on the floor, both panting heavily, their minds still high on the effects of adrenaline. "Baka… don't go overboard," Asuka said, hyperventilating but managed a genuine smile. "You're much stronger than you look."
Shinji, on the other hand, was feeling a mix of anger and relief. "Asuka…what the hell were you doing?! You almost got us killed!"
Asuka's instinct was to retort, but she suppressed it since she knew she messed up BIG. "I'm…sorry, Shinji, I really am," she said in tears, "I was cold and lonely…I just want to come and share your warmth! The Janitors wouldn't allow me to…so I…"
Her words surprised Shinji, "what?! You…wanted to…what?"
"I want to sleep with you!" She blurted out but soon blushed hard as she realized the connotational meaning of her statement, "I mean, not in the literal sense! Oh wait, perhaps in the exact literal meaning," she sighed, "just sleeping in the same bed to share the warmth! Nothing more!"
"Oh, okay," Shinji blushed a little as well, "still… I'm really angry with this…incident. By the way, I think I remembered something," he pondered for a moment, "do you remember…piloting an EVA inside a volcano?"
Asuka mused, and nodded, "yeah…when you were pulling me up, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu…" she took a deep breath, "I think…I was falling down in a volcano with my EVA, and you…came for me and pulled me up, just like…what you did just now." She smiled a warm smile, "heh…you saving me from falling down might as well be a universal constant." Asuka paused for a second before continuing, "Thank you, Shinji. For saving my life, twice." Although she didn't want to admit it - Asuka Langley Soryu needed Shinji. She'd never thought she needed anyone.
"Um, you're welcome?" Shinji replied, getting up from the ground, "I mean-"
A finger on his lips silenced him in an instant, and a soft kiss on his right cheek stopped him from thinking – his world was spinning around him, Shinji forgot to move, forgot to breathe-
"I think we should go to sleep, idiot," Asuka smiled, pulling away from the kiss, "c'mon, I'm getting cold out here!"
XXXXXX
At the moment, Earth Orbit
"How did my counterpart remember what happened in my original timeline?" The God Shinji frowned in confusion, "they didn't experience it, did they?"
"Well, from my latest studies, it might have something to do with quantum interference," the God Asuka replied, walking out from Princeton University, the world around her paused since they needed a moment of privacy, "they didn't experience it, but we did. And we were occupying their brain for quite a while. Maybe our memories left a mark."
"I...guess," the God Shinji said, "I mean, it's not exactly a bad thing, right? If they remembered what happened in this timeline..." He trailed off.
"When you failed to save me, and then all the Angelic powers stuff," the God Asuka followed, "yeah, it would be...bad."
"How about my abnormal strength, though? Does this mean my counterpart's S2 organ somehow activated?" The God Shinji asked with dread.
"I don't know, really," the God Asuka sighed, "but seeing you still shiver from cold, I guess the answer is still 'no'. But it's getting close."
XXXXXX
"Hmm? Aira's gonna get married? Alright I'll come to the wedding...next week? Okay okay, I have time...but my husband not so much. I may have to come with just my daughter... it's okay. Hai. Hai. See ya Yui!"
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu hanged up before opening her laptop and searched for a suitable flight from Germany to Japan. Her daughter - Mana Langley Soryu, stood beside her with a smile. "Are we going to Japan and meet auntie Yui?"
"Yes, my dear," Kyoko smiled back. "I feel this trip will be a fun one!"
XXXXXX
AN: Some may think my fic is too light-hearted to be an EVA fanfic, however not only that's my main intention for this piece of fiction, but also the setting of this world doesn't really allow anything dark to happen. This isn't some post-impact world, nor it is in the middle of Angel wars. I simply want to give my favorite couple some happiness, as well as entertain my readers with a light-hearted and humorous pure love story with a full tsundere Asuka and manga & TV mix Shinji.
With that being said, I don't intend to make things smooth for them. Asuka and Shinji will have to, and had already overcome what all AsuShin couples have to overcome - their insecurities and past traumas. Some of the settings of this world are there to make my ideas work, so don't mind too much about technical a review if you like my story!