Chapter 7: Confusion and Nervousness
Shinji had been feeling a rollercoaster of emotions. He couldn't even talk with a family member, his father didn't care. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, he was confused. His SDAT player had been on repeat for the last hour. 'It was maybe 2 hours after school, maybe' Shinji believed, looking at the track going from 14-15. He heard a faint knock on his door.
"Asuka? Come in." He yelled, surprised to see somebody else. "Misato? Oh sorry, I thought you were-" he was cut off by the Major. "Hey, Shinji. I need to talk to you." Shinji rushed the earbuds out, and clicked the stop button his SDAT. Misato sat on his bed, looking over at him. "Shinji." Asuka appears behind the door, her red locks over her head, her face frowning. "What happened last night?" Misato asked him, in a calm tone. Sweat began to form on his face. His eyes began to go blurry. His heart beating faster and faster. Shinji saw Misato next to him, looking at him with a soft look on her face. The major, trying not to be threatening, asked, "Shinji?" He began his stuttering, "I-, I" flashbacks plagued his memory, watching the gruesome scene over and over again."I-, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Shinji screamed, throwing his arms up, fear of retaliation. He looked up, looking at Misato, putting his arms down, panting heavily from stress. Asuka moved in towards him.
"Hey, idiot." Asuka shook his shoulder, smiling at him. 'That smile… it isn't painted on.' His mouth opened a little, eyes began to glisten. She leaned in over to him, giving him a kiss. Closing her eyes, Shinji broke off.
"Misato is right there, Asuka. Later." Shinji whispered, Misato still heard him. It's okay, Shinji, you can tell us." Asuka told him.
"Well, I- um…", "I jumped off the balcony." Shinji told Misato, looking at Asuka, comforting him. She moved her hand to hold his hand. Misato listened, trying not to comment or look surprised. After he finished talking, Misato left the room. It was him and Asuka, "Now." Shinji whispered, leaning in for a kiss. Asuka did the same, Shinji felt happier. Empty, but happier.
She got up, patting his head, and shutting the door. Shinji had half the day off from school, to get ready. Asuka had the same, yesterday was a melting pot of events. Shinji started in the kitchen, making some bentos. Asuka happened to still not know how to use chopsticks. He put the one fork in the whole house, right inside of the bento. Shutting it, writing A on top with a permanent marker, he put it on the table. Making his own, he finally finished, just in time for Asuka to get ready. Shinji was in his school uniform, a gray apron on top. He threw it over a chair, throwing his black school bag over his shoulder.
The blue sky above them, not blocked by clouds, or even an angel. He couldn't help but notice Asuka in front of him, so incredibly ecstatic. It was the first time they were going to school, in weeks. He was looking up, not noticing Asuka's foot extended. He walked over, staggering, and tripped over, throwing his arms out, trying to catch his fall. He fell mostly on his right side, his wrist turning into a red, bloody mess.
"Shit!" Shinji screamed, his outfit turning red from his wrist. His teary eyes turned back at Asuka, who had a mix of playfulness and guilt on her face.
"Come on! Why did you do that?!" Shinji yelled, holding his wrist. He winced, closing his eyes. There was a distinct pool of blood on the sidewalk, slowly dripping from his bloody collar. Asuka reached out a hand, Shinji grabbing it. She threw down her bag, tending to his bloody wound.
"I thought it would be funny." Asuka chuckled nervously, pulling back his collar pulling an antiseptic alcohol wipe from her backpack, ripping off the cover with her teeth.
"Asuka, wai-!" Shinji screamed, wincing horribly at the feeling of the wipe on his wound. It began to burn and swell a little bit. Asuka began to rip open a bandage, putting a bandage on it, then wrapping his wrist in gauze. Shinji raised up his hand, Asuka pulled him up.
"Revenge." Shinji whispered, grabbing Asuka. Propping her up the bridal pose, he trudged into the elevator.
"Hit the button for me, please!" Shinji smiled, looking down at the embarrassed redhead in his arms. He watched the doors ping, whirring open. Shinji started to chuckle, this was hilarious. They had all the time in the world, and he started his journey to the schoolyard. She was blushing, slapping Shinji on the shoulder to signal him to let her touch the floor.
"Sorry, but we are going to school like this." Shinji laughed, bolting towards school. His suitcase strap on his shoulder, they turned the last corner. The boy, sweating, began to pant. Leaning in for a kiss, they grazed each other. Asuka tapped him harder this time.
"Fine, fine." Shinji muttered, letting her stand up. They heard muttering from behind them, Shinji turned his neck, horrified at the sight.
"Y-You, traitor!" Toji and Kensuke screamed, baffled at the site they saw in front of them.
"Ah- oh, Toji! Kensuke. Hi, we were-, I-, we." Shinji stuttered, embarrassed by his own actions.
"Dumbasses! Get out of here. Take this bozo with you." Asuka screamed, shoving Shinji towards them. She winked at him, going back to her moody state for the act.
"Shinji, did you hook up with a demon!?" Toji slapped him on the back. Shinji began to blush, "She's not a demon, guys."
"You were carrying her, and you kissed! You guys are dating." Kensuke argued, Shinji telling them to drop it.
They began to walk into the school, lunch about to start. Toji and Kensuke had a habit of stealing out of class either by bathroom, or by persuading the class rep.
"Shinji and Asuka sitting by a tree, K-I-." Toji started, "Go fuck yourself." Shinji told him playfully. Walking a little ahead, they heard the distinct ring of the bell. The lunchroom was near the entrance, it was completely empty. Shinji planted himself in the right spot, watching both of his friends go on either side of him. Asuka ran over to Hikari.
"Asuka, you sound like you're in a good mood." Hikari commented, "What are you looking at?" noticing that Asuka's eyes began to wander. Asuka shook her head, looking back at Hikari.
"You know, you can tell me who you're dating." Hikari smirked, looking at Asuka panicking. "I'm dating somebody." Hikari told her, trying to convince her. "Toji."
Asuka looked over at her, happy for her friend. "Nice job, you got somebody." Asuka punched her on the shoulder.
Toji looked at Shinji, surprisingly saying the same exact thing.
"Wow, you found somebody, that's great!" Shinji told Toji, both the class rep and Toji looked at each other.
Asuka happened to be the first to tell about the secret relationship. "Ugh, fine… it's only fair." Asuka started, "You guess first!" She tried hiding her blush under her arms.
The class rep started, "Ikari?", she knew the answer already. Toji had texted her beforehand. Asuka hid even further in her arms, trying to avoid saying yes. Hikari began to shake her shoulder, "Come onnnnn!" clearly teasing her friend. "Yes…" Asuka told her, not wanting to take any teasing from the class rep.
On the other side of the cafeteria, Toji and Kensuke began to poke at the eva pilot.
"We know that you're dating the demon over there." Toji started, Kensuke repeating.
"She's not a demon." Shinji retorted, he fell for their trap.
"Then why are you defending her?" They told him in unison, poking more and more at the floodgates. Shinji's phone beeped, looking down.
"Hey, they know. Don't try to hide it." His phone displayed, looking back at Asuka. "Fuck. Fine, we're dating. Happy?" Shinji told them, poking Toji. "Prove it." Kensuke teased, and Toji had begun to chuckle.
Asuka heard her phone beep, seeing a text from Shinji, "They won't let it go, they want us to prove it."
"What do you guys want us to do? We already kissed in front of your ass." Shinji retorted, pissed the hell off. Toji started thinking, his eyes amazed with the idea in mind. "Kiss right now, right here." Toji chuckled, putting a finger on his chest. Kensuke put his hand on Shinji's shoulder, laughing his ass off. He jumped up, climbing over the seat and bolting to Asuka.
"Come with me." Shinji told her, putting his arm out. Asuka took it, and Shinji pulled her out. They slowly shuffled out of the room, trying not to make a scene.
"God, this fucking sucks! What do they want? Your friends are so fucking horny." Asuka commented, a smug look on her face began to emerge. "They want us to kiss in front of them. Shinji began to rub his arm, afraid of Asuka's response. "So? Just get it over with. It would get horny boys off me for once." Asuka told him. Shinji tried thinking of an argument, not wanting to be embarrassed in public. His phone rang, a notification from Kensuke came. "The Council has decided you carry the demon in the bridal pose over to our table." Shiniji groaned, holding his phone up to Asuka, who was now starting to regret this. "Why are you friends with them?" Asuka yelled, almost letting the cafeteria hear.
"I know you enjoy this." Shinji told her, sweeping her off her feet.
"Woah!" Asuka screamed, surprised at the fact of the matter. "Get this over with…" starting to blush, Shinji walked into the cafeteria, getting a lump of spit out of his throat.
"No, fucking way!" Toji looked at Kensuke, unable to look away from the couple that was in the doorway. Kensuke threw open his camera, recording the two eva pilots, looking away from everybody but each other. A couple of lone eyes turned towards the couple. The sound of tapping shoulders, shuffling necks and the silence began. Asuka began to blush, throwing her arm around Shinji's neck, creating a divot in his chest where she dug her head.
"Fucking hell, really? Weren't you the one okay with this?" Shinji whispered into her ear, annoyed looking at red hair underneath his head. He heard a couple of muffled noises, unknown to him. He finally stopped near the table his buddies were at.
"Hey, we're here." Shinji told Asuka, who had dug herself out of his chest. There were two small tear marks on his shirt.
"Are you sick fucks happy?" Asuka asked them, Shinji lightly setting her down. Gazing a little at Asuka's slim nature. "You guys are really the wor-", she stopped. Shinji leaned in, and kissed her. The entire lunchroom started the classic, "Ooooooooh-." Asuka began to wrap her arms around Shinji, he put his right hand on her face, stroking her hair. It wasn't long, but they kept it going for about 2 minutes. The lunchroom watched in awe, unable to comprehend what was going on. They finally parted, blushing red. Kensuke began to laugh, he was in disbelief.
"Holy fuck, you guys actually did it." Kensuke finally blurted out, closing his camera. They heard the class start chuckling, Asuka lost a few brain cells from this. "Shinji, let's get out here." He started kneeling over, Asuka hopping on his back. He picked her up, much to the dismay of Asuka, who wasn't on completely. She held herself up, holding on to his neck. Shinji began to walk away, then to run. The last thing the lunchroom heard was Asuka's laughter.
"So, where to?" Shinji asked, stopping for a second.
"Let's ditch this shithole." Asuka told him. Shinji began to come up with a retort. "Alright, mi lady." Shinji chuckled, Asuka dug her nails into his shoulder.
"Fuck! It was a joke, damn." Shinji cried out, turning to see Asuka. They walked out of the school, turning left, Shinji beginning to walk. He began to pant, "No, get off. Please." Asuka jumped off, offering him on her back. He shrugged, jumping on her back. She held him up, wobbling as she tried to carry him.
"God, you're heavy." Asuka teased, walking forward.
"Well fuck you then!" Asuka retorted, not in an angry mood. He got off, rubbing Asuka's red hair.
"Come on, it took me forever to get my hair like this." she began to play with her neural connectors, trying to get it back to how it was. "Asshole." she had a blank expression on her face, continuing to trudge forward. Her red hair got messier and she got aggravated, stopping her efforts. She pushed her neural connector one inch closer together, still walking.
"Shit!" Shinji screamed, Asuka looked up, almost falling onto her head. Shinji had grabbed her, and a bus was going over the speed limit, taking both teens by surprise. It had blown Asuka's hair around. "I just got it how I liked it!" Asuka cried, throwing German curses at the bus.
He pulled out his wallet, counting. "50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400… 10000." He finished, folding the money, stuffing it in the wallet. "How much is that?" Asuka asked, surprised at the wad of cash in his wallet. "Which currency am I comparing to?" Shinji looked at her, her eyes were glistening, he began to blush, always stunned by her beauty.
"US Dollar." she told him, thinking for what seemed to be hours.
"70 dollars, at the most. "It isn't that strong." Shinji seemed to be embarrassed of his currency.
—-
Misato was at home, PenPen next to her. She was bored out of her mind, the kids were back at school. She had a purple tank top on, and a pair of shorts. The apartment phone rang, PenPen jumped up, walking away.
"I regret what I said, world." She went over, grudgingly picked up the phone. "Hello? Misato Katsuragi on the phone!"
The school secretary began to say, "Hello Ms. Katsuragi, we have lost both of your children. Asuka and Shinji."
Misato continued, "When was the last time you saw them?"
"Lunch time ma'am, they disappeared after a bunch of students saw them leaving the lunch room."
Misato's finger stopped twirling the phone wire, they clenched. "I'll find them, thank you!" Misato told her, with the last bit of calmness.
Misato ran out of the door, dust flinging behind her. She slid into her car, buckling in. 'They could be anywhere. Tokyo-3 is so damn large.' Misato thought, biting her bottom lip trying to stay calm. The car started, the engine flared up. Her phone was clutched in her right hand, ringing Shinji's phone.
—-
Shinji was walking alongside Asuka, his phone beginning to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket, noticing the name.
"Shit, it's Misato. She knows." Shinji gulped, trying not to get caught.
"It's fine, don't answer." Asuka said, sounding happy. She held his hand, gracefully skipping down the street, trying to find somewhere to go.
"Ooo, look! A ramen shop! I'll pay you back." Asuka promised, putting her hand in his pocket.
"Hey!" Shinji screamed, trying to stop Asuka from taking his wallet. He caved in to her request, "Fine." Taking out 5000 yen, giving it to her. She ran over to the stand, asking for two ramen bowls. Shinji didn't hear the orders, he just prayed it was good. She turned around, ushering him over towards her. He sat down, taking in the smell of the beautiful food. Two bowls came out of the kitchen, the man moving towards the back, he waved at them.
"This is so good!" Asuka told Shinji, eating more and more.
"I'm heavy, yeah." Shinji retorted, giving her a smirk.
He felt a long burning sensation on his face, a red Asuka had slapped him. He almost fell off of his chair. She stared at him, finishing her bowl. She began to pick at the remainder of his bowl, he didn't budge. He finished his bowl, leaving it at the counter with a 500 yen tip. She took him over the city, ignoring the sound of Shinji's phone.
"Turn it off, Misato will kill us!" Asuka told him, holding his arm.
Asuka began to go over towards the park, dragging him over.
"Why are you so stubborn? Idiot." Asuka asked him. He was quiet, following her to the central park of the city.
They were on one of the benches. Asuka was still energetic. Shinji wanted to go home. "Can we go home?" Shinji asked, Asuka frowning at him. "No!" she yelled, punching him in the chest. 'If only I had my SDAT.' Shinji rolled his eyes at the thought.
Misato called him one more time, and Shinji picked his phone up. Despite the protests of Asuka, he picked up.
"Shinji! Where the hell have you been?" Misato yelled, trying to figure out where the teens were.
"Oh! Asuka and I were at th-" Shinji tried, Asuka covering his mouth with her hand.
Shinji started fighting Asuka, pushing her hand off of him. Shinji tried to stand up, Asuka tackling him. "Fuck!" Shinji screamed, falling to the floor. "Misato! We're at the p-". Asuka tried to shut him up by kissing. "Mmpf!" Shinji screamed, trying to get Asuka off of him. She let go of him, taking his phone.
"Bye, Misato!" Asuka yelled, hanging up.
"Asuka, they can track our phones, you just fucked us over!" Shinji yelled, trying to dial Misato again.
"Alright, you can go get yelled at. I'll be having fun! Square." Asuka walked away, still in her school uniform.
He dialed Misato's number one more time. "Hey, Asuka's gone. She walked off."
"I'm at the park, I'm sorry for what happened today. I'm pretty confused as well." The boy told her. "I'll explain when you get here."
—-
Misato hung up, dropping her phone onto the passenger seat. She turned off the radio, dialing the volume knob. The red light blared overhead, the clicking of her turn signal filling up the car. The light turned blue, Misato slammed her foot down onto the accelerometer. She started speeding up towards the park, trying to recover one of the pilots.
"I should have called Section-2 to find them." Misato told herself, regretting this entire exchange. She drifted the car, watching other drivers panic from his reckless driving. She only had a couple beers, not enough to make her drunk. She parked the car, holding the gear. She pushed it into park, laying her head back trying to figure out the situation.
'Damn, I'm not ready to become a mother, or anything like that. This is hard enough.' Misato thought, shaking at the thought of the future. She used her left arm to open the door, flying out. She grabbed her phone, throwing it in her coat pocket. Slamming the door shut, she began her lapse around the park. Shinji was on a bench, next to the middle fountain. The sight of a red NERV jacket when he turned to his right was Misato. He jumped up, stretched. He made his way over to her, greeting her as usual.
Misato grabbed him, throwing him into her car.
"Ok! What the fuck is going on?" Misato screamed, not being able to keep her cool. Shinji gulped, realizing that the redhead was correct.
"Asuka wanted to skip school, so I followed her. We just ate and went to the park." Shinji calmly said to her, trying not to break down. Misato continued, "So, where is Asuka?" Shinji was puzzled, he didn't know. Asuka was lost, her phone could die soon. Misato sighed, "Let me rephrase." Misato raised her hand and smacked Shinji across the face. He slammed into the door, "Where is Asuka?" Misato asked, Shinji not knowing. "I swear to god I don't know!" Shinji cried out, rubbing out the injury. Misato reached over and began going through his pockets.
"Come on! Why do both of you girls do that?" Shinji blurted out, realizing she had taken his phone. "Call her." Misato yelled, opening his contacts. "Oh my god!" Misato blurted, starting to laugh and grab her stomach. She held up the phone which had Asuka's contact on its screen.
"Love" was on the screen, much to Shinji's dismay.
"God, you're corny as hell!" Misato teased, trying to get the boy to stir.
"Jeez, lemme call her." Shinji told her, plucking the phone out of her hands. He rang the number, hoping she would pick up.
Asuka looked at her phone, ignoring it. She completely shut it off, cutting her from the outside world. Shinji looked up at Misato, shaking his head sideways.
"Alright, lovebird. You are gonna look for your fucking wife tomorrow, let's go home." Misato told him, revving the car up and moving towards the apartment buildings. Shinji began to get worried about Asuka, 'What if she was kidnapped?' pacing through the young boy's mind. He was visibly panicking. She slammed the car in park, holding Shinji by the ear as she entered the apartment. He flung his shoes off, moving over to his room. 'It's already 8:30PM.' Shinji looked over his shoulder to see his alarm clock. He started to jerk around, unable to get any sleep.
"Fucking damn it!" Shinji blurted, Misato taking a slight notice of the boy's efforts. He wanted to cry, he just wanted to sleep, but the mixture of nervousness and sadness kept his mind racing. Misato got up from her beer-filled table, moving into her own room. Shinji heard this, throwing on a sweater. He tiptoed out of his room, putting his shoes on and praying the creaking door wouldn't wake Misato. He ran out, throwing his phone out of his pocket, ringing Asuka. It went straight to her voicemail, giving her standard voicemail. He heard a long beep after.
"Asuka, I'm worried, call me when you get this." Shinji talked to the phone, recording a short message he hoped would be read. "Love you." he finished, hanging up the phone. He rummaged through his pockets, placing his phone firmly.
—-
"Fuck! It's so damn cold." Asuka muttered, watching every breath go over her, frozen. She was shivering, teeth chattering. She was still in her school uniform, no coat or sweater. She had her bag with her, only with her phone and a first aid kit.
'I'm not caving in.' She thought, pushing her phone deeper in her bag. She was huddled next to a trash can, trying to stay warm. She was exhausted, but the redhead didn't want to sleep. The back alley she was in, it was in the worst part of the city. She knew that she could be robbed if she slept.
—-
Shinji moved around, running towards the ramen shop. He saw the buff ramen chef, dirty apron on. He was holding a handle, shutting the metal shackles to lock the shop up.
"Wait!" Shinji screamed, and the man froze.
"Hey kid, I'm closing." He told him in a raspy voice. He began to point at the handle and the metal shackles/gate.
"Have you seen-'' Shinji panted, holding his knees. "The girl I was with earlier today." Shinji asked, tears in his eyes.
The man began to look at him, nodding his head sideways. Shinji waved to him, running towards the central park. The sounds of the concrete and gravel under him kept him going. He was confused, 'Why would Asuka do this?' Shinji watched tears fall from his eyes, hitting the dusty pavement. The black sky, only stars to fill the emptiness was above the city. The moon wasn't over tonight, making it extra dark. He watched every single breath, his heart pumping harder.
—-
Asuka stood up, holding onto the railing. She picked her bag up, trying to get out of her. She was scared, nervous. She had goosebumps, trying to get out of the area. She picked her phone out, watching it flick on.
|ONE NEW MESSAGE FROM SHINJI I.|
She smiled, glad that somebody was looking for her. She picked it up, listening to the relayed message. "...Love you" the message ended, Asuka feeling warm. She took her plastic neural connectors out, pushing it into her bag. Her hair became straight, untidy. She dialed his number, watching the beeping sound. "I caved in."
Shinji looked up, hearing his phone ring. He fumbled it out of his pocket, looking at the name of the caller. He picked up the call, and he started. "Holy shit! Where are you, it's been hours?!" Shinji screamed, dropping to his knees.
"Hey, I'm going to the park." Asuka told him, "I'm in the shit area of the city." Shinji sat at the nearest bench, getting up from his knees. He pushed off with his dirty sleeve, still a dark crimson under the sweater. He sat back, drifting off, waiting for his love. Asuka was passing the better parts of the city, she soon saw working street lights and a metropolis. The park was a decent one, with nice scenery. It was in the decent part of town, near the school. It was also near the shop district and the apartments/urban housing areas.
She found Shinji, lying down, moving around. He was still sleeping, Asuka started laughing. She sat next to him, holding him tighter and close. She nuzzled her head on his chest, closing her eyes slowly. "Shinji-" she mumbled, hitting the hay.
TO BE CONTINUED…