Part Thirteen: Let it be Known
"It has been almsot a week, Shinji. Are you sure that girl is even gonna send anything back," Amagi began, placing a large cardboard box of files and paper down onto the kitchen table, "like seriously, I feel like this isn't going to make her like you more or anything."
"Again, Miss Amagi, I understand where you are coming from, but please continue onto helping me free her. Please," the boy responded, with not an ounce of annoyance, "Misato, would you mind?"
Slowly turning around to not hurt herself, the purple haired woman saw Shinji reaching his good arm out to reach for his water bottle. Misato proceeded to pass it too him, but not before noticing how happy he looked. Shinji looked bright, excited even. Despite Amagi's less than positive outlook on Mana, the boy seemed estatic to get to work. A smile from ear to ear, and eyes that were wide.
"You seem happy today, Shinji," Misato began, "any reason in particular?"
"You learned how to cook after a week, I don't have to order out food everyday anymore," he answered without hesitation, "oh and we get to work on making a defence for Mana."
"Amagi, is there even a way to get her out," the guardian inquired, "like, Mana is already behind bars." "The government left some holes with her for sure. She's not arrested, rather, being held with a reason to do so," Amagi answered, turning around to open the bag of her fast food, "now we could make a call to action, the public still has her fresh in their minds, but no case was actually made against her. Think of it like she was put behind bars for being drunk and then now we have to pick her up."
"So what does that mean?"
"That means that I could represent her in a court trial," she responded, "which also means that we need to make the best legal case for her innocence other than just that the government mishanlded her like a dog and a chew toy."
"That would be more than enough, would it not," Shinji asked, taking a sip of water afterwards.
"Technically. Just in case the procecusion, aka the government, really doesn't want an agent of an international organization out and about, we need to still need to find some defences for her. The burden of proof rests on the government. We find some ways to say she's innocent, and to find as many holes as possible," Shinji was about to respond, but Amagi continued, "so we're reading through this pile of paper and files and all that to find holes in their defence. Whatever evidence they have is the same thing we get to work with."
"How can I help," Shinji asks, almost enthusiastic.
"Well, apart from giving me positive encouragement, you can go through all of the papers and put a sticky note or something on wherever they mention Mana or the Human Instrumentality Project or SEELE or heck even that one government program she was part of before she arrived here."
Shinji sighed, but quickly sat upright immedietly after, "I got a lot of free time, might as well spend it on something."
"Suit yourself," Amagi sarcastically answered, "tell me when you give up. This is always the worst part of any trial…"
"Jeez, Shinji, what happened to you," Misato began, "back during your piloting days you were down and gloomy but now…it feels like I'm looking at a new man."
"Several reasons, I think," Shinji answered, tiling his head realizing he did not take Misato's comment to heart.
As Amagi and Misato talked up a storm, the lawyer eventually left during the evening with some documents finalized. Shinji would not be able to cook until his arms healed, so Misato did. Stired vegtables with salmon and fried tofu. Misato still had responsibilities for NERV, but it was mostly to try and find a way to completely disconnect from it and to try and find employment for the people she worked with. Asuka on the otherhand has yet to come home from her psychiatric and physical treatment. Despite Misato's insistance of driving her back and forth, Asuka simply pleeded to just be in control of when she comes home. Reluctantly, Misato agreed. So now, Asuka comes home whenever. Before dinner, after dinner, sometimes midnight.
Tonight however, she finds herself coming home late at night. Misato is already asleep, and the sun wont come up for another few hours. As she unlocks the door to the apartment and makes her way in, she finds Shinji hunkered down onto the kitchen table. One arm still slung, and already changed into his more comfortable clothes, he sifts through pages trying to find anything to put a sticky note on. His hair is messy, but it was mostly covered by his new pair of over-the-ear headphones that snaked its way into his SDAT. On his left were the papers that were checked and had sticky notes on them, and on his right sat the large cardboard box that still had a sizeable pile of papers inside of it. Shinj did not notice Asuka, who was already a few feet in front of him.
"Shinji."
He did not answer.
Using her unbandaged hand, she tapped the table with her pointing and middle finger. The vibration and motion caused Shinji to look up and take his headphones off.
"Oh, sorry Asuka, I didn't notice you," he smiled, "Misato cooked today, the food is on the top shelf of the fridge."
"I'll eat later, but what's with all of this," Asuka replied, looking at all the piles of paper that surrounded him.
"Oh, well, Mana is getting a proper trial soon, and Amagi said I could help by looking through all of this and finding any mention of her or Instrumentality," Shinji answered while placing the elbow of his slung arm onto the cardboard box.
"How long have you've been at this, Shinji," she asks, notcing the dark bags under his eyes.
"Um," truthfully he did not know. Looking over at the clock, Shinji realized that he had just spent five hours looking through the papers. Five hours and he was barely half way through all of the material.
"A lot," he simply replied.
Asuka sighed, turning around to go towards the fridge to reheat her food. The sound of the fridge opening and the closing and starting of the microwave lingered in the room. Shinji never realized how quiet it became since Misato stopped making phone calls and finally fell asleep. He had been listening to his SDAT the entire time. Despite his connection with his SDAT, Shinji debated on whether to get a Walkman or not to expand his listening library. Truth be told, he was interested in seeing if he can find refuge in other music as well, though he knew that the music would not carry the same weight as the ones inside his current SDAT.
When Asuka's food was done reheating, she made her way to the other end of the dinning room table and began eating. She wanted to acompany Shinji, despite her frustrations with him in the past, Asuka needed to learn the importance of being around people in general. Finding help for her mental health, she was told to find time to listen and take part in learning about other people. Although Asuka was not friendly to the idea, she decided to give it a try.
"So, why are you doing this, Shinji," she asks, before taking a brocolli tree and beginning to chew on it.
Shinji was not expecting a question, he was more expecting silence or for her to begin poking fun at him for something. Though he supposes that he could not have been the only one to change since the last few days.
"I need to get Mana out," he simply replied while taking a sticky note and applying it right after the paper mentioned diverting two pilots out of service.
Asuka nodded, "I know, but, did she mean that much to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Listen, I," Asuka stopped herself, thinking on whether or not her next words should be said, but she elected to, "-I knew you didn't want to pilot, what with your father and everything and all."
Shinji continued to listen, only blinking. Asuka continued.
"But I think we were on the same boat together. We both found someone we really liked and treated us well, then immedietly told us to get onto those Evas again," Asuka never felt this comfortable before, so she went on, "I guess I wanted to get into an Eva again to prove myself that I still had value. Not a lot of it was from Musashi, but that brings into question you. How the heck did Mana convince you to get into an Eva?"
"She almost didn't," he replied, "Mana almost failed to. Most of it was on me though."
"Oh?"
Shinji nodded, "yeah. Though I guess I am not wrong for feeling the things that I was feeling that night. I just wish, maybe that I could've saved both of us a massive headache if I just nodded along and did what she wanted me to."
"You have a big problem with being told what to do," Asuka, interjected.
Shinji simply looked at her with a neutral but soft look, which caused her to sit back, she signalled, "sorry, go on."
The boy was taken back slightly from that small gesture, but he continued.
"But after everything was done, while I was being wrapped up in bandages, I had an apifamy. All I could think of was if Mana was able to do everything she needed to. From all the people that were trying to get me to a stable condition, I assumed she did. I was happy that she succeeded," Shinji paused, half a smile growing from his soft face, "I was happy for her. I wish I could've celebrated with her, but I was for sure feeling satisfaction and joy knowing that she did it. I was happy for someone else. As it turns out, my happiness wasn't the only thing that mattered, but other people's happiness as well."
Asuka couldn't help but smile.
"Other people are just as important as me…" the words sounded of Shinji finally letting go of some weights over his shoulders, "so back to why I am doing this. I am doing this because I want her to be happy, and if the past is anything to go by, I'll be happy too."
"I see," Asuka responded, "but I was asking how Mana convinced you to get in the Eva…"
"She convinced me that I wasn't the only one that was struggling at the time," he answered.
Asuka sighed, crossing her arms, "you've changed."
"I know," Shinji nodded, before looking at Asuka, "you did too."
"Can we both agree for the better," the redhead asks.
Shinji nodded again, "I'm sorry this version of me couldn't arrive earlier, Asuka."
"I am too," she nodded, "I wonder though, could we have gotten together if we matured before all of this."
"I wouldn't have been swooned by Mana," Shinji giggled, "maybe it's not all too bad I suppose."
"Yeah," Asuka nodded, sinking down to start eating her food, "I suppose so…"
"Why do you come home so late sometimes," Shinji asks, pausing his scanning of the papers to lean forward, "I worry all the time, wondering where you are…"
"Looking for Musashi."
"Oh."
Shinji did not expect the answer to involve Musashi, but he supposes it is because he does not think about him too much.
"No, if I knew where he was he would be with me right now," Asuka answered, correct in Shinji's next question, "I guess I just gotta keep looking. It's not like the world is infinitely large."
"What were you two," Shinji asks, weary whether or not he asked the right question.
She shrugged, "I was kind of hoping he would ask me out when he took the both of us to the restaurant… Old me would've thought that Mana had more balls than him."
"You just said it…"
"Said and thought are two completely different things, idiot," Asuka chuckled, her voice low and warm, unlike the other times that she called him the same name.
However, after realizing what she just said, Asuka raised a hand to apologize. Shinji was quicker though, shaking and smiling at her, "it's different. I can live with it."
Asuka nodded, opting to continue eating her food rather than continuing the topic. She was happy that Shinji did not sink away from her. If he did, he would have not blamed him. The memories of how she treated him always came as a sour and jarring note. Yet, here she is, sitting firm alongside him. Part of her wanted to celebrate that her situation with Shinji had most certainly improved. However, Asuka decided that a firm and sincere apology is in order first. For him and for herself.
As Asuka continued to eat, Shinji began once more to scan through the pages. It was silent between him and her, but it was a comfortable silence. For once, Shinji was not expecting Asuka to make a move or anything. He felt as though there was a friend on the other side of the table, and in truth, there always was. Asuka on the other hand finally appreciated the presence of a person willing to burden some of the worry and sorrow with her. She regrets not being able to feel this earlier, but she is too occupied with eating to do anything about it.
After Asuka was done eating, she realized that Shinji was still continuing and scanning through the papers. Walking over to the sink, she was hoping that by the time that she was done washing her dishes, that Shinji would finally be done and call it a night. However, after drying the plate and her chopsticks, Shinji was still here. Enthralled by the beige and plain white of the paper, staring and looking for any signs of what he was looking for. Making her way towards him, she rested a hand on one of his shoulders.
"I think it's time for you to go to bed, Shinji," she softly speaks, causing Shinji to look up before looking at all the papers he was amongst.
"I need to finish this pile it's almos-."
"Shinji, please," Asuka interrupts, "You're not a pilot anymore. You're free to do whatever you want. But for tonight, please. Give yourself some rest."
He takes a moment to soften his muscles before finally giving in and sighing, "okay fine, I'll go quickly get changed and stuff and head to bed."
"Good," Asuka smiles, "tomorrow morning, I'll help out. Maybe then we can get you to worry and work yourself less so you can heal properly."
"I'll be fine, Asuka," Shinji chuckles, as he stands up, causing Asuka to place her hands on him just in case he falls over, "thank you."
"I just want you to be well, that's all," the redhead responds before getting a giggle off of Shinji, "what's so funny?"
"Nothing, don't mind me."
Asuka shrugged it off as she helped Shinji walk to his bedroom, "idiot, you need to take care of yourself better."