"Pilot Soryu, thank you for allowing us to ask you a few questions."
Asuka wasn't very pleased to say the least to have to answer to this "Committee" she had never heard of before. Misato had told her and Shinji that they were both going to be questioned concerning what happened during the Angel battle, that she had tried to prevent this but that they didn't take "no" for an answer. She was annoyed and tense, but tried to hide it as much as she could. The fact that she was standing in a room only lit by a projector under her didn't help. So she stood there in her plugsuit, her arms crossed and her head slightly tilted, the light from under her unpleasant for her eyes. "I don't think I can give you much information." She answered with as little inflection as possible.
"Did the Angel attempt to communicate with you ?" A second voice which came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time asked.
"How should I know ? As I already said in my report, I was asleep most of the time and barely conscious otherwise ! I might have had some dreams or nightmares but I don't remember them." The vision of her own face that she saw inside the Angel flashed through her mind.
"That is, if your memory is correct."
"And how would I know if my memory had been tampered with ?" She said sarcastically.
"Was the Angel interested in your spirit ? In your mind ?" The first voice asked.
"When I was inside the Angel, everything was white and empty. There was nothing. If the Angel manifested itself maybe I would have talked to it to occupy my time." She had less and less success hiding her annoyance to these faceless voices. "All I know is that I almost died inside my Eva so I was preoccupied with other things rather than analyzing Gott knows what !"
"That will be all. You are dismissed." A new voice stated. This one was calm and deep, it irradiated an aura of authority. Asuka's anger vanished in an instant upon hearing it.
"Yes, Sir." She answered, before the light under her disappeared.
"What do you think, Ikari ?" The same voice added.
"The informations we got from the Second Child are inconclusive. She is far too unreliable to tell us anything useful. Bring the Third." Commander Ikari stated emotionless as the light under him turned on. He disappeared back in the darkness as soon as he finished his sentence.
"We should try something different with him." A fourth voice stated. It sounded old, or rather older than the others. The light brought the attention of the Committee to the Third Child, who was clad in his plugsuit as well. He looked uncomfortable and scared.
"Don't worry." The fourth voice said. "Just tell us what happened during your time inside the last Angel. Tell us anything that you think could be relevant to understand our enemy better." It added calmly, almost with a friendly tone to it.
"Erm... Well... I don't really know... There... There was nothing, and nothing happened." Shinji was very nervous, talking like this with invisible interlocutors. The whole staging for this interview made him anxious. Even the fact that he had to wear his plugsuit made him nervous.
"Do you think the Angel tried to communicate with you at some point ?" The first voice which spoke to Asuka asked. Its tone was calm too, but it betrayed some anticipation. Some impatience.
"I erm... Don't think so. I've dreamed that I had a conversation with myself." He was embarrassed by the conversation, he hadn't told anyone about it, not even Asuka, and he sure didn't want to tell people he didn't even know what this conversation was about. Not to mention that telling them that it was seeing Asuka that triggered, according to him, the Eva going berserk. "I... Don't remember the conversation. After that, I woke up and the Eva took control and destroyed the Angel. I passed out so I don't know what happened. I'm Sorry."
"According to the partial recording we managed to recover, you activated your Evangelion consciously moments before it took control." Said the first voice.
"I panicked. I woke up thinking I was going to die. I didn't want to die." Shinji said with despair.
"That'll be enough. You're dismissed." The third voice said, understanding that they wouldn't get anymore useful informations from the Third Child, before the light went out under Shinji, and the one under his father turned on.
"The Angels appear to be getting more and more intelligent. There's not much time left." Gendo said without even moving, his fingers crossed in front of his mouth.
"Left for us, you mean ?" The third voice, the voice of Keel Lorenz, asked rhetorically.
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The silence was heavy in the Alpine that was bringing the trio back to their home. They all were preoccupied by what happened with the Committee. Misato still felt guilty for putting her kids through it. As a consequence, she decided that she had caught up enough on her paperwork to allow herself some time off so she could spend more time with her wards, to give them some semblance of a normal life.
When they arrived home, She grabbed herself a beer that she savored, for once, after having changed in her usual tank top and mini shorts. Asuka went straight to the bathroom to take a shower and Shinji started making dinner. The interviews didn't last long for both Pilots, but they made them wait a long time before going through with it.
When Asuka came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel around her body and another around her hair, the first thing she did was scream at Shinji and scold him because dinner wasn't ready yet. She really enjoyed this. She could scream at him to her heart's content and she knew it was consequence free, since he was one of the only ones she had shown the real Asuka, even if it was just a glimpse. She just hoped he knew, because she couldn't bring herself to tell him what she had said to herself in her Entry-plug yet, she had already enough of a hard time accepting it herself.
The mood improved significantly as dinner went on. All three of them were more than happy to release some steam. The last few nights had taken a toll on them, and they had needed this, consequently, none of them did anything to darken the mood, Asuka didn't shout as much as before dinner, and Shinji kept quiet in order not to apologize. It was the best option in his mind, and he felt content just listening to his two roommates talking about nothing in particular. The only thing that kept him from truly relaxing was the slight smirk that Asuka wore. He knew from experience that this facial expression meant that she had something in mind.
And he was right. When he stood up and picked up their plates to do the dishes, he threw a nervous glare in her direction, which she noticed, but ignored. Even if she could have, she didn't want to let this opportunity go to waste. The moment was perfect. The pieces were set. The plan was in motion. 'Oh he wants Misato to know ? Fine ! But it will be on my own terms.' Her plan was foolproof. Simple, yet elegant... Well, mostly.
"Hey Shin-Chan~ !" A very tipsy and very cheerful Misato called. "You shouldn't push yourself this hard ! You don't have to clean everything right away ! Come back with us !" She said with her cutest voice.
"Don't you dare, Invincible Shinji." Asuka replied. Her tone was a mix between joking and threatening which made shivers run down Shinji's spine. "I don't want to live in a slum ! And I know what's going to happen if you start listening to Misato !"
"I'll be done in a minute anyway." He answered, defeated.
"You're no fun." Misato pouted before consoling herself with her beer.
'GO !' Asuka thought. "By the way, Misato..." She paused for effect and was satisfied to see that her guardian kept drinking her beer while her eyes turned to her. "Shinji and I have been sleeping together for the past week or so." She continued casually.
And everything went exactly according to plan. Misato spat the beer that was still in her mouth and choked on the liquid that was in her throat. She started coughing. She was turning red, tears forming in her eyes, beer shooting out of her nostrils. Shinji, for his part, was paralyzed like a deer in headlight, as red as Misato, but for different reasons. He was still holding his sponge in his right hand but had dropped the plate he was cleaning.
Asuka wiped some beer from her face with a napkin, a small price to pay, she thought, as she continued. "What's happening to you ? Are you okay ?" She asked innocently. "Oh ! You thought we are actually sleeping together as in... Sleeping together ?" She said in mock-surprise. "Don't be silly ! I just mean that we both sleep in the same bed, nothing more !"
Misato tried to look angry when she finally stopped coughing, but the effect was somewhat lost on the girl in front of her.
"Oh come on ! You've been teasing us non stop since I moved in here ! You can't act like that now !" Asuka replied to the unspoken remark, still with a smirk on her face.
"I'm not talking about that !" Misato shot out with a hoarse voice, her face stern, her tone almost menacing.
"What do..." She was cut by her Major.
"You're far too young to be doing this." She said. Her tipsy and friendly demeanor gone in an instant. It's at this precise moment that Pen Pen decided to make a strategic retreat to his fridge. "You think the both of you can do what the hell you want ? I can't believe it. You two are completely irresponsible." She continued, her voice was calm but everyone in the room could see that she wasn't. "We are at war. We cannot afford to jeopardize the survival of mankind because two kids cannot stop making doe eyes at each other."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have made me move in with you !" Asuka was furious. She slammed her palms against the table as she stood up, knocking her chair down in the process. "I warned you Misato ! I told you when you made me move in that it was a bad idea ! But you didn't listen, did you ? All of us knew right from the start that something like this could happen ! And now you want to separate us because you don't want to face the consequences of your actions !"
"I guess you're right. I should never have allowed two irresponsible teenagers to live together, but for someone who keeps heralding how mature you are, you really did make a point in proving that these are just empty words !" Misato stood up as well. Disappointment could be heard in every word she said. "I can't let you two live together anymore... I can't trust you."
"You can't do that Misato-San !" Shinji said pleadingly but with determination while coming close to Asuka, drawing strength from her closeness and encouraging her at the same time. "Asuka didn't want you to know." He said with conviction which earned him a look of anger from Asuka and made Misato's stance falter a little. "It was my idea. Because I thought you of all people would understand. Because I thought we could trust you. That it would make you happy..." he trailed off.
Shinji's remark really hurt her, but she hid it from them. She couldn't stop now. "I want to be happy for you... I really do... I know that both of you more than deserve as much happiness as you can get." She said in a more subdued tone. "But I just can't let you... As your guardian and especially as your commanding officer. There's just too much at stake. I'm sure you can understand that." She started walking around the table as she kept on justifying herself. "Imagine if you broke up. What would happen to your ability to pilot ? "She raised a hand towards Asuka. "Don't interrupt me !" She added with authority before continuing. "Or if one of you took unnecessary risks and got injured or even killed to protect the other ?.. I'm sorry but it's the human race's future we are talking about." She said in a despondent tone as she arrived just next to her charges...
… And swiftly took them both into a crushing bear hug ! Shinji yelped and almost fainted. Asuka gasped as the air was pushed out of her lungs. They both struggled against their assailant before understanding that it was a lost cause. Misato was laughing while holding them in an unconventional group hug.
"What the hell are you doing !?" Asuka asked, she was still very much angry at Misato and didn't quite understand what was happening.
"Are you dense ?" Misato teased. "Of course I'm happy for you guys !.. But never try to fool me again." She said mock-menacingly as she released them from her iron grip.
"Y-You mean you won't..." Shinji tried to ask.
"Of course I won't separate you ! You two lovebirds are too adorable together for that !" She answered cheerfully.
"So you're going to tease us even more. You had a great idea there, Baka Shinji."
"T-Thank you, Misato-San" Shinji finally managed to regain enough composure to make a full sentence.
"You're the only one who knows about us. Well, you and Pen Pen, of course. And we intend on keeping it that way, so don't tell anyone, alright ?" Asuka demanded. She was relieved that everything went well, but that didn't mean they didn't have things to settle.
"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me this. Trust me, I won't tell anyone, but you guys have to be careful too, okay ? You have Section 2 agents following you pretty much everywhere, and I'm pretty sure some people wouldn't be too happy to know about you two being together."
Asuka grimaced a little at this last word. They hadn't decided if they indeed were together. They probably were, but they, or she, didn't want to put a label on them yet. She was an independent woman. She didn't need anyone. She didn't want to lose this. "We already know that. By the way, it would be nice to have a little bit more freedom. I haven't forgotten Okinawa, you know."
Misato gave her an apologetic look. "You have to be even more careful because now my ass in on the line as well ! I will get fired if anyone learns that I hid this information !"
"Maybe it would be better for everyone involved." Asuka answered sarcastically.
"I know you don't really think that !" She hugged them again, this time less forcefully. They both returned the hug after some awkward seconds. "I'm so happy for you !" She freed them. " I'm going to bed, don't be too loud tonight, lovebirds !"
"Misato !" Both Children blushed and shouted at the same time. But Misato was already out of the dining room and almost at her bedroom. They looked at each other, shrugged, then went to the bathroom to brush their teeth. They got even redder when they realized it was just like during their sync training. They then went to their room in silence.
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The light of the setting sun made the depiction of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life in the scarcely furnished office glimmer eerily.
"This is a development we did not foresee." Fuyutsuki stated, breaking the silence after what had seemed like hours to him. Maybe it had been.
"If development it is.." Gendo answered." There is nothing concrete as of right now." The last thing they had listened to was the audio recording of the last fight, before the two Evangelions were swallowed by the Shadow.
"This could endanger the scenario." Fuyutsuki had learned over the years how to talk to his superior in order to coax informations from him.. Gendo still kept his secrets, of course, but the Professor had managed to get informations he should not have known thanks to this skill he had developed.
"As I said, we do not have anything concrete. I will have Rei gather informations on them. We are not going to take measures, especially since it could prove beneficial to the scenario." Gendo replied in his usual deadpan tone.
"How is that ?"
""We did not have any use for the Second anymore. Now, we might be able to use her to "motivate" the Third. You have seen how he reacted when he encountered Rei. He can easily be manipulated. If he is infatuated with the Second, this will be even easier... And if the need shall arise, we can use more persuasive measures." Gendo crossed his fingers before his mouth as he finished his sentence.
"Are you saying.." Fuyutsuki was cut before he could finish his question.
"Yes. Furthermore, it might be just what we would need t use him as a contingency in case Rei was to become... Unreliable." Gendo stated.
Fuyutsuki could have kept the conversation going, yet his thoughts prevented him from doing so. 'Yui would have never accepted you using her son like this. Will you be able to look her in the eyes after this ?' His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing.
"What ?" He answered sternly.
A hesitant and shaky voice answered the question. "The... The Second Branch Sir, it disappeared."
"It disappeared ?! The entire Second Branch just vanished ?!" Fuyutsuki wasn't taken aback as much as he sounded. He only repeated the information for the other person in the room.
"Yes, Sir, it's been confirmed. It's gone."
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.'Gott this had to be the worst idea this idiot ever had ! Asuka thought, and this time she decided to tell Shinji about it. She typed her message on her computer and sent it.
Asuka L.S. : "This has to be the worst idea you ever had, idiot."
Shinji I. : "What ?" Shinji cleverly replied.
Asuka L.S. : "Me, Hikari, you and your Stooges."
Shinji I : "Sorry."
Asuka L.S. :"I'm going to punch you if this class ever ends."
Asuka L.S. : "We can't just start this without a good reason."
Shinji I. : "At least you're thinking about it, I'm glad." It was easier for Shinji to be open on instant messaging. There was a rather long pause in their conversation. Shinji could hear Asuka typing, then stopping, then restarting a few times before he received a new message.
Asuka L.S. : "Okay. I admit. It's not that bad of an idea."
Asuka L.S. : "It's just that we can't just tell them that it's NERV related. It might be enough for your idiot friends but Hikari would never buy it."
Shinji I. : "You think the class rep will agree ?"
Asuka L.S. : "You just gave me a great idea ! Tell me you forgot our lunches today !"
Shinji I. : "You will scream at me ?"
Asuka L.S. : "Oh yes ! But it's a small sacrifice, don't you think ?"
Shinji I. : "I don't have a choice anyway. Please don't be too harsh."
Asuka L.S. : "You know me !" She concluded with a smirk that he didn't see. Indeed, he knew her. He knew she was going to be harsh. Or he would soon find out.
The class went on forever in everyone's mind until finally, the bell rang, marking the beginning of lunch break.
"Lunch time ! Lunch time ! This is the single best thing about school !" Toji exclaimed, his lecture-induced torpor already far behind him. Nothing could taint his good mood. Nothing except a high pitched shriek coming from a Demon. He turned in the direction of the parasitic noise just in time to see said Demon punching his friend rather hard on the shoulder. Shinji's cry of pain was drowned in Asuka's rambling.
"You didn't make lunches for us ?" She asked with all the anger she could muster. She knew that her lunch was safely packed in Shinji's bag, but she had to pass on it in order to move her plan forward.
"I didn't have time to cook last night. I had too much homework." Shinji managed to sound convincing. He used his disappointment to fuel his acting. He would have to eat the disgusting "food" of the cafeteria or skip lunch altogether
"And that's your excuse for me having to go without lunch ?!" She was about to drop the act and go rummage through Shinji's bag to get her lunch when she was interrupted by Toji.
"A husband and wife quarrel ?" Shinji and Asuka both blushed furiously at his comment. The other students around them started laughing and cheering as the both of them felt heat course through their bodies. They wanted nothing more than to disappear at this instant. The thought crossed both their minds that their secret had been discovered and that it was just a matter of time now before they would be separated.
"It's not like that !" They regained their composure at the same time and shouted to Toji in unison.
"Hikari, come with me !" Asuka demanded, and Hikari obliged. She hadn't been really angry when she had been screaming at Shinji, but Toji's snarky comment had put her in a bad mood. When they were far enough away from anyone, she spoke again. "I didn't want to be this hard on you."
"Don't worry, I understand." Hikari replied. They went to a quiet place and sat down. "Do you want to share my lunch ? I always make too much anyway."
'I really don't deserve a friend like you.' Asuka thought before nodding. "Thank you !" She said with a smile. Hikari started eating as both of them fell silent again. After a while, Asuka broke the silence. "Hey, could I sleep at your place tonight ?"
"Uhm... Sure ! Of course ! But if you don't mind me asking, why ?" Hikari was surprised. Asuka had never been one to partake in this kind of activities. She was too mature for that, she always said.
"I spend far too much time with the idiot, Jock Stooge's joke earlier is proof of that. I need some time off from this wimp or else everyone is going to start believing we really are a married couple !" She answered, her eyes in the distance.
'Everyone already believes that. You two are the only one who don't see it.' Hikari thought before giving her bento box to Asuka who quickly shoved as much food as she could in her mouth. "I already told you, you should be nicer to him." She said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "And you could be nicer to Suzuhara too." She mumbled, almost inaudibly. Almost.
She didn't want to talk about Shinji, maybe tonight she would but for now, she was glad to have an opportunity to end this conversation. "And why should I be nicer to Suzuhara ?" She asked in a mellow tone.
"No reason !" Hikari yelped as she turned beet red, then fell silent.
"I'll have to go back home to pick some stuff up, I'll come to your house after okay ?" Asuka stated, relieved to have dodged that bullet.
"I... Yeah. Okay !" She still wasn't over the shock brought by Asuka's incredible hearing.
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When the bell marking the end of the day rang, every student in classroom 2-A sighed with relief. They all packed their bags and left the classroom in record time, except for four of them. As Asuka finally informed Shinji that she was spending the night at Hikari's, much to his disappointment, Hikari herself went to speak to Toji. Asuka gave Shinji a reassuring, albeit discreet smile and whispered to him "Come on, you can handle sleeping alone for one night, right ?" He nodded slightly, with a smile tainted with a little sadness. Asuka then turned on her heels and left the classroom on her own.
"Suzuhara, you've got the duty this week. Get to work !" Hikari said with her usual authority.
"What do you mean ?" Toji answered, looking confused.
"The class printout ! Didn't you hear the teacher tell you to deliver this ?"
"Come on, you can ask the other person on duty, can't you ?" Toji replied, clearly showing how unwilling he was.
"Miss Ayanami is absent today !" Hikari's behavior hadn't changed.
"Ayanami and me ? Then I guess there's no choice. But I don't want to go to some girl's place by myself." Toji said as he saw an opportunity to make this chore less boring.
Hikari saw an opportunity as well and decided to go with it. Sure, it would mean making Asuka wait, but she would understand. She would probably go on and on about how stupid Toji was, but she would understand. "Well, I can go with you..."
But her hopes vanished when Toji shouted. "Shinji ! Walk home with me, will you ?"
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Unfortunately for Toji, the walk to Rei's apartment didn't offer much in the way of entertainment. Shinji didn't seem to be in a talking mood, even less than usual. He seemed to be pondering something. When they arrived at Rei's front door, Toji refrained from commenting on it. Or on her building. Or on her neighborhood for that matter. He knew that it was a sketchy neighborhood to say the least, but he hadn't witnessed how dilapidated it looked with his own eyes. Every building there seemed about to crumble. Everything was dirty and full of rubble.
"Ayanami, we're coming in." Shinji stated after they had stayed for some time in front of the door.
"You can't enter a girl's room without her permission." Toji retorted with evident shock in his voice.
"We've got no choice. She won't see it if we leave it there." Shinji said while gesturing at the mailbox. He then opened the door when he finished his sentence. "Excuse us..." When he didn't get an answer, he entered, took off his shoes and headed inside the main room, followed closely by Toji.
"Good grief ! This is a girl's room ? It's so decrepit." Toji said in an astounded tone.
Shinji didn't fail to notice that the upper drawer of Rei's dresser was slightly ajar. He shook the memory out of his mind and went to the bed, where he placed the printouts. After that, he knelt down and started picking up dirty rags from the floor.
"Hey, you shouldn't touch anything ! She'll get pissed !" Toji said in a warning tone when he saw what his friend was doing.
"I'm just cleaning up."
"I won't help you ! That's not a man's job !"
"Okay, but Misato hates guys like that." Shinji answered sardonically. He hadn't asked for any help, but it was too easy to pass up.
Toji gasped. "I don't care ! It's my policy !" He obviously was flustered.
Shinji picked up his garbage bag and headed for another pile of rags. Toji sat down on a chair, still watching him, still not helping him.
"Come to think of it, you've changed."
"What ?" Shinji didn't seem to pay attention, or he really hadn't understood.
"You, Shinji." Toji clarified as Shinji turned to face him "The first time I saw you, I really thought you were a jerk. You didn't seem like you would do something for someone else." He paused, then his eyes went to the ceiling. "I guess you're just really reserved."
Shinji pondered this comment for a few seconds. "I guess opening up to others can lead to good things." Their conversation was interrupted when Rei entered her apartment.
"Excuse us !" Toji said raising his hand at her.
"What ?" Rei said without inflection.
"Those are the school bulletins you have piled up." Toji answered while pointing his thumb in the general direction of the printouts.
"I'm sorry ! I took it upon myself to clean up a little. But I didn't touch anything except trash." Shinji chimed in, raising his garbage bag.
Rei blushed. "T-Thank you." Shinji was shocked to see her troubled like this. They then bid her farewell and left her alone.
Rei then slumped onto her bed. She laid there for some time, her arms in front of her face, deep in thought.
"Thank you... Words of gratitude. Words I've never used. Not even to him. I cannot spy on Ikari." She spoke to herself, with disappointment, or even disgust in her tone. It was very subtle, but it was there. She was confused, never before had she disobeyed an order, expecially one from the Commander, but she couldn't bring herself to do something that might harm the only person which showed real kindness towards her.
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On their way home, they didn't speak once again but Toji wanted to know more about what Shinji had told him. "What did you mean ? When we were at Rei's."
"Oh. I-I meant that doing something for someone. O-Or just t-talking, can lead to good things." he didn't really like where the conversation was going, one wrong step and Toji would learn about him and Asuka.
"Do you have something to tell me then ?" Toji sensed that there was something more to this story, so he pushed Shinji.
"Erm... I m-mean that I've been alone most of the time... B-before I arrived here... So it's something that I had never learned." It was getting more and more uncomfortable for Shinji, he had to think of something fast. But just as he was about to mumble incomprehensibly, an idea came to his mind. "Y-You see, if I had talked to you instead of letting you punch me without doing anything, maybe we could have avoided it altogether."
Satisfied with this answer Toji answered. "Yeah... I guess you're right..."
Still frightened about the possible outcome he wished to avoid, Shinji decided to make a hasty retreat. Running away was still his preferred strategy in many situations. "Well, I-I have to go this way, I have some errands to run. Bye !" He went away without waiting for Toji to answer. He had thought about it when walking with Toji. Asuka wouldn't be home tonight, it was the perfect moment so he decided to put his plan into motion. And for that, he indeed had some errands to run.
"Bye..." Toji answered. "... Eva pilots are sure weird all right."
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A/N : Well. This chapter was hard to write ! I guess I experimented writer's block for the first time. It was pretty cool, it allowed me to watch all 39 episodes of Nadia again. Good anime, I recommend it !
I tried to correct some of the "mistakes" I made in the previous chapter. They are not really mistakes, but I guess I should have let this chapter rest more because I wasn't satisfied with some things that I wrote in it. Oh well, what's done is done as they say.
Anyway, I hope you like it, and as always, thanks for reading !