Chapter 10
Standard Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned and copyrighted by Gainax, all characters used from that series are theirs. All names are (TM) and (C) by their respective owners.
I've never written long texts in English, and this is my first try to write a fan fiction.
Feel free to send any comment, suggestion, flame, job opportunity etc. etc.
About the crap I write.. even if EBJ ( the evafiction's Space Black God ) helps me a lot, starting from the pile of trash that is my draft, some errors could escape, so you are advised...
These are my active pre-readers.
In the end, if you like ToT, thank them as well, so I can continue writing...
And my e-mail is r.giammanco@datastudio.it
Standard Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is owned and copyrighted by Gainax, all characters used from that series are theirs. All names are (TM) and (C) by their respective owners.
Well, Take a seat, and enjoy yourselves.
Spot:
A linux kernel a day, keeps boredom away.
Awakenings and Nightmares/Family reunion
Darkness engulfed the small room. It appeared to be a study. Indeed, it was an L-shaped room. The entrance was at the south-west corner of the room, while at the south-east one an American-style kitchen, with fridge, dishwasher and washing machine could be found. Some dishes were currently drying on the counter. Using the dishwasher for such a limited number of dishes was considered a waste of power and time by the owner of the room. In fact, the study having been conceived for one or two people at most, was already well furnished with the washing machine, a great comfort indeed, but the dishwasher was too much.
In the middle of the shorter arm of the "L", a tv-set could be found, along with a great deal of laser and dvds, and matching playback equipment. Because of the purpose of the room, no live broadcast could be received by the tv-set, hence the amount of videos, in order to make comfortable any possible kind of occupant the room could host.
At the top of the shorter arm there was the door to the bathroom, containing only a shower, to the great disappointment of the current guest. Heading to the east side of the longer arm of the "L" a dressing mirror could be found. It had been put there at the explicit request of the occupant, from said occupant's previous residence: it was mounted on a small table with many drawers.
The small stool was in oak and there was a soft pillow over it.
It had likely been bought in an antiquities shop or a gift. Over the table a great variety of bottles and lotions could be found, while a hairdryer plugged on the wall near the top-right corner of the mirror was on an making one hell of a noise. It probably was a very old model.
On the North of the room there was the only bed, untouched and with a nightgown laid over. To the right of the head of the bed there was the control set of a midi-stereo and a phone. The loudspeakers had been put in high position to the corners of the west side of the room. At the moment, an SDAT tape with some pieces by Chopin was on, currently playing Nocturne in Db minor.
The west side of the room was mostly empty, except for a rather large rectangular table and four matching chairs. In the middle of the table a vase with flowers was sided by two small porcelain cats, one white, one black.
Doctor Akagi was at the end of the process of removing the blond dye from her hair. She was now combing her wet hair with a brush in her right hand, while she was using the hair-dryer with the other. It had been a rather long procedure, way more time consuming than dying. When she had dyed her hair for the first time, she went to a hairdresser. She didn't remember how much time it had taken, but it wasn't much. From time to time, she used a small vial of dye to refresh her hair. Now, after maybe 4 or 5 years, her hair was free at last from that prison, but she had had to do a first pass with a solvent lotion, and had then had to wait for one good hour with it on her head, with a cap to avoid the stuff to drip on herself and the floor.
She'd had to continuously massage her scalp to increase the effect of the liquid, and when she'd been done, she had to wash her head, with just water first, and then with a special shampoo. She had then had to use the solvent lotion again to clean everything up, and to repeat the whole cycle until she'd been finally able to use a normal shampoo, her favourite one, a camomile one.
It hadn't been easy to ask and obtain all that stuff. Not that it would've been difficult to find or buy them, even if the one assigned to the task was a Nerv security officer. Men aren't usually good at shopping, especially if it's a lady who writes the list of the items to buy. Ritsuko had had to to speak a lot before she'd managed to convince one of the guards that in no way the stuff
she'd asked for could be used to harm herself or to escape. Not even if she'd been McGyver, she'd added. Actually, even just the shampoo could've been used by the good doctor to get the guard unconscious and to break from the room, but what then?
And above all, there was already another shampoo bottle in the shower by default, a peach one.
She had finally managed to convince the daytime guard and he'd brought what she'd asked, the day after Shinji had passed out in the park. The guard was a young man, and she could swear she had already seen him before. Maybe he had been assigned to surveillance on the bridge, or maybe in the facilities, or anywhere else, and she could make out, hidden behind the professional appearance, the respect he had for her. Very few people could stay unaffected by the brilliance of Project-E chairperson, and of these some where her superiors or equals in rank, such as Misato Katsuragi, who had gone as far as to slap her when Shinji's life had been at stake inside the 14th angel, in the Dirac sea.
But, in human nature, admiration can be replaced by envy, and in the hurt ego of a former soldier, put more than once under her direct authority by hate for being commanded by a woman. This was a rough profile of the other guard, the night time one. Ritsuko knew them both from less than two days but it felt like years for her. She had wondered whether the chief of security ha put them together by chance, or rather, on purpose.
According to the Nerv executive prisoner treatment, the guard was authorized to perform an inspection of five minutes each hour, taking more time if deeming it necessary. This was a rather obsolete measure, since, she was sure, there were more many microphones and cameras and heavens know how many bugs put in that room. It was more of a psychological threat than a real necessity of surveillance.
The daytime guard, in his turn of 12 hours, had apparently set for 4 inspections, always knocking on the door and waiting some seconds before entering the room. It was an act of kindness, though it preserved the idea of surprise inspection, it could at least give the prisoner the time to cover herself in the case she was for example undressing. His inspection were more like small talk than anything else.
Even though she could ask what she needed by the phone, he always asked her if she needed something. This made Ritsuko smile, because he was clearly trying to cover the discomfort she could feel in those intrusions.
On the other hand, the night guard was clearly abusing of his authority. He didn't miss an inspection, and what was worse it was that she was sleeping. Each time he entered without notice, turning on the lamp and forcing her to stand up. The pride he felt at making the doctor feel so uncomfortable, making noises and examining the very same things he had already examined more times before, was clear in his attitude. She suspected he had the aid of some one working of the surveillance room, because he found her for two times while she was changing dress. The first time was very humiliating: she was changing her bra, and when he entered she got a pillow and covered herself with it. He'd grinned and with fast paces he was by her and he'd throw away the pillow, uncovering her naked breasts. 'I though you were hiding a knife' was what he said. From then, she always undressed in the bathroom. Not that it was useful, since the bathroom couldn't be locked, but at least it provided her with some precious seconds.
For the same reason, she had to take the shower in the morning, what she hated the most.
Trying to reach a compromise, she took two showers in the morning, one just awaken, and the other just before the day-guard left the place to the other guard.
All of this to give you an idea of the stress she was subjected, a real psychological torture.
She was pondering on this and similar things when she watched the watch. It was 12:37. She had some time left. The daytime guard had given her all she needed in the morning, around 8 am, and she had time to finish her job before the fucking dork would arrive. Once she was done she stood looking at herself in the mirror.
Her hair didn't have anymore those strange reflections of light she was used to, and felt good between her fingers as she used them to comb it.
She finished and was about to give everything back to the guard, but he refused: he had asked and obtained authorization to bring it in, and there was no need to hide it. He added she was better looking in that natural colour, rather that in that faked one.
When time came, the night-time guard made his appearance, and made sarcastic comments over her new aspect.
She stood there silent, knowing that the best strategy would have been to not react to his provocations, so after a bit he left. She gave a sigh of relief: at least she would have been alone for the next hour. She sat on the bed, absently putting on Bach's Ave Maria. She started thinking about what had just happened before she'd been led there, about what she had done: given birth to a new being.
Rit: 'A Miracle...I'm not sure if it's been a blasphemy instead. How many times has she to die and to be born again? Why has she to suffer even after her death? In the past.. maybe they could call her a martyr.. A martyr victim of her own husband..'
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the steel door opening without any advice. There was no possibility of mistake. Not only that son of a bitch tortured her when he could do it, but now he was starting even when he had no authority! Only few minutes had passed since his last visit.
She spoke with rage in her voice, covering her legs with her night-dress: "Now you are trespassing the si.."
She stopped, seeing that the visitor wasn't that dork of a guard, but the very commander Ikari.
He was in his usual attire: dark spectacles, white gloves, brown dress, red shirt. His right hand wasn't like usual put in his right trousers' pocket, but was holding something else. This something else was connected to the pale little arm of a little child of maybe five, six years, with red eyes and turquoise hair.
Gendo stepped further into the room, closing the door with his left hand, without even turning back to check it. He simply pushed it for a bit with a measured movement of his arm, and the door turned over its hinge finally closing with a soft click of the lock.
He stood, there, without saying a word.
She knew that she wasn't supposed to do it, but in any case asked in a harsh tone of voice, looking straight into his eyes, hidden by the dark spectacles, and directed towards the floor, in a very strange attitude: "I told you it was too early to bring her outside the lab. What happened at your place?"
Gendo silently walked to the table, and lifted the child making her sit on it. Then he turned to face her, and spoke in a steeled and authoritative way: "I am not here to be patronized, Doctor Akagi."
She looked at him with a hard glare, but he didn't care. Instead he came closer to her and gritting his teeth he spoke to her almost in her hear: "She was giggling."
Ritsuko stepped back away from Gendo, still stretched out with his body to speak in her hear giving his back to the child, who was looking at them in clear apprehension. She wasn't sure of what she had heard: "How come?"
Gendo slowly got a hold of himself and, this time stretching his uniform to spread a couple of wrinkles at the height of his right elbow, speaking low in the meanwhile, without looking directly the doctor: "I've found her this morning in her room, laughing without any apparent reason towards the wall."
Ritsuko felt the urge to roll on the floor laughing. It was ridiculous. A man, holding maybe the fate of the world and of mankind in his hands, the man who could condemn the whole human race to extinction, was worried because a child was laughing. A child of six years. A child without past. With a brain so empty calling it tabula rasa would've been the greatest affront to the latin language ever done on this world. She was about to start the biggest laugh she had ever had in all her life, when she looked better at him. This time he was looking straight at her. His jaw was forcefully pushed against his skull. She could make out all of his facial muscles straining to their limit. She could not see his temples, because they were covered with hair, but she could swear that his blood vessels were pulsing with the blood pumped from the hearth. He was trying to look calm, but never in all the time she had known him, had he looked more desperate and agitated.
It looked like that was the worst thing that could happen to him. He was serious, deadly serious.
So serious, that he would have shot at her here and now if she dared to make fun of his thoughts.
So she simply lowered her eyes and moved towards her night-table. She took her glasses and took a chair, putting it in front of the table, where the child was sitting with her legs kicking the air. While she was sitting, she looked at the shoes: they were of red patent leather, brand new. She was wearing a thin panty-hose matching the colour of her hair. He had to buy them and to dress her by himself, and she had no doubt he did it. While she was adjusting her glasses over her nose she spoke: "You know this is not the right place for an examination, sir."
He was still by the bed, where she left him. He had his hands behind his back, and simply answered:
"I am not here for a complete visit, doctor Akagi. Just start checking."
Ritsuko nodded, tested the girl's pulse, checked under her tongue, her reflexes, listened her breathing. She leaned against the chair thoughtful, removing her glasses and biting one of the glasses' poles. She started thinking in what could had gone wrong with this specimen: she had followed all the instruction she had been given, reading the notes of the very Gendo Ikari. In reality, she was surprised he had taken role to the operation like an external aid, leaving to her the main role. Her train of thought was getting far and far away from the problem at hand, and her eyes were loosing focus, when she sharply recovered and looked better at was she had in front of her. She had already seen her shoes, and now she focused her attention over her body: a turquoise blouse was covering her chest, a white shirt under it.
She was wearing a short skirt, down to her knees, of a dark blue. She was dressed like a doll, as if whoever had chosen the dress had made the proper decision for each piece of garment. The idea of the commander Ikari looking around in a child dress shop, with his dark spectacles, his white gloves, his hands hold behind his shoulders, kneeling down to look for the right size of a pantyhose made her involuntarily shiver.
So she focused her attention on who was wearing those clothes. A child. A small girl. A little girl who wasn't speaking. Who didn't know how to speak. A little child shivering. Yeah. She was shivering, and she hadn't noticed. She had examined her, and had not noticed she was shivering.
Ritsuko put away her glasses, and looked slowly into her eyes. She saw pain. She saw sadness. She saw solitude. She saw emptiness. She saw a little human being, which she had never considered a real person. She felt an immense sadness, and caressed her right cheek with her hand. It was an instant. Gendo hovered so quickly to her right shoulder she couldn't see him do it, but she didn't leave him any time to act nevertheless. She stood, pushing with a loud noise the chair away from her legs, and turned to face him: "As far as I can examine her here she seems to be ok. I need my lab to proceed further and maybe I will need the help of my assistant as well."
Gendo looked at her through his cold glare, and then silently nodded.
In the darkness, a sudden movement followed others which had come before it.
As if in an endless nightmare, a body was fighting against the demons of his mind, not really fighting them back but rather being at their mercy. At long last, a sensation from the body reached the mind. It managed to find its way through the dark alleys of his mind, with its load of urgency and necessity.
His body was screaming to be heard, and the self preserving instinct was finally able to overwhelm his nightmares: he sat on the bed, had just the time to turn his face to the right, when a spasm hit his stomach and all what was there, basically gastric juices and almost no food, followed the inverse path they were used to take, erupting from his mouth and nose in a deflagration of puke.
He puked a first time, a long stream of yellow-white substance, then after a moment threw up again, on the floor near the bed where he was sitting. Tears and streams of gastric juices were flowing on his face, under his mouth and nose. He was barely able to keep his balance, in the darkness, his head spinning.
Tears, were flowing from his face, a long stream of a blank substance was dripping from his nose. In the dark, he had no fixed point to help him keeping his balance, and finally he fell on the floor, over the very mess he had just produced.
But he didn't care. He continued crying, calling for a person, her form, her face, her soul.
Now he was aware someone had turned on the lights in that room, and there was someone looking at him. He could feel the intruder's eyes fixed on his back. He was hearing what he was saying, but nobody could really hear his cries. Nobody could really help him . He was aware of this, and he silently swore vengeance.
He made a promise, to himself and to her, and slowly stood. Only then, with his stomach relieved from the weight of the offending substances, he tried to recognize the environment, and found himself in his room.
And he found someone else. Someone looking at him intensely from nearby the light's switch, her hand still on it, not moving a finger, not speaking, not even breathing.
They exchanged glances for a while, then Shinji, drying his mouth with the back of his hand spoke: "What are you doing here?"
Asuka stood there: she was still dressed in her yellow sundress, his blood still spread over it and over her auburn hair. She was now breathing slowly, pain aching in her chest each time she emitted a breath, her eyes red to extreme limits, her skin unnaturally pale all over her except close to her cheeks, which were extremely red. Black bags were clearly visible under her reddened eyes. She was the closest thing you could imagine to the human exhaustion.
But all the rage, all the sorrow, all the anger made him blind, and he harshly asked her, pure hatred in his voice, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Asuka regarded him impassively, then turned to the door and walked towards it.
Looking at those shoulders, trough the wide section of her sundress that let his eyes wander over her exposed skin, he could see how she was barely able to stand, how her once proud posture was now gone, there was no trace of the glorious pilot of the unit 2, but only an exhausted girl.
He didn't think: he basically jumped over his bed and he grabbed her by the wrist. She looked back at him turning her face over her right shoulder, and in the dim light of the room he saw her face. He wasn't able to recognize the feelings she was hiding. Happiness, sadness, rage, anger, betrayal?
Shi: "Would you go for a walk?"
Asu: "W..What?"
Shi: "This afternoon. In seven hours, go to sleep now."
She looked at him for some moments, then she left and after a bit he could hear her door closing with a click. He looked around in his room, and looked at the night watch: it was 21:00. Indeed, the room had been engulfed by darkness not just because the lights were off and the curtains closed, but also because there was no sunlight outside.
So he trailed towards the bed and sat there, his legs spread to avoid the contact with the vomit on the floor. He slowly took the alarm clock and weighted it on his hands. He found himself extremely weak. He set the alarm for 9:00 am and stood. He needed to clean up that mess before he could go to bed, and clean the kitchen and Misato's room as well.
Thinking about Misato alarmed him, he left the room and looked for her. She was sleeping on the couch, probably after passing out, still dressed, but without any beer can close or over her.
He was by Ausuka's door, and silently poked his head inside: she was sleeping on her bed. Her room was almost intact. Apparently she hadn't put any disorder lately, not even after she had limply fallen dead asleep on the bed: when she had closed the door behind herself, she'd been on the verge of fainting.
Nearly 30 hours without sleeping, looking for him everywhere in Tokyo3, with Hikari and Kensuke, after Misato's call and the mad run towards the house, after the wait by his bed, with him prey of his nightmares, sitting in that chair, without moving for more than 15 hours, as if wanting to punish herself, watching the person she loved the most suffer like in the flames of hell...
She had barely made it to the bed before falling in a deep, dreamless sleep. Shinji found her like that.
He looked at her for endless moments, before closing silently the door and heading towards the kitchen. The mess he found there was something unbelievable. But he didn't falter a one bit in his decision. He put rubber gloves on, took the brush, and started cleaning the dishes in the silence of the night. It took him three hours to completely clean the kitchen, trying to do the least possible noise. His arm was giving him some trouble, ands he had to put a salvelox over his broken nail, but he was almost completely functional, even if all of this was slowing him down a bit.
Another three hours were necessary in order to clean his room and Misato's, plus a supplementary amount of time for a side quest. When he found what he was looking for, he put it in a drawer of his desk and continued cleaning. The bathroom was not that messed up, and he took a shower while he was cleaning, without even removing his clothes. He tried to clean them, but when he saw it was useless, he put them in a basket with other dirty clothes, continuing his shower.
When he finished, he collected all the other dirty garments and left for the laundry shop. It was meaningless running a 24-hour washing centre in an almost desert Tokyo-3, but he found his usual one open never the less. When he was back, it was already dawn, 6 o' clock. He was now tired, and felt very weakened . Anyway, he made a couple of sandwiches with what he found in the fridge, and some coffee, and then set the table up for two people.
He left a note on each of his roommates' door. On Misato's door he wrote simply 'thanks', on Asuka's door he wrote 'Wait for me'.
When he reached his room, even though he had left the window open, a smell of sweat and rancid was still present. He turned on the air-conditioning and undressed. When he finally lied on the bed, it felt like years had passed since the last time he had held Rei's corpse. He took the alarm-clock and switched it off before falling asleep.
Misato was the first to awake. She was pretty dazed, and managed to focus her thoughts only after taking a shower. She then noticed something strange about the apartment: the bathroom was clean and even perfumed. While brushing her teeth she wondered what in the world could've convinced Asuka to do it.
The thought of Asuka reminded her of her other room-mate, and she simply flew into Shinji's room. When she saw him there, sleeping on the bed, she was about to pass out for the relief. She was going to leave the room, when she felt the urge to come back and to kiss him on the fore-head: "Welcome back, Shinji".
When she went into the kitchen, she thought she'd just entered heaven: the kitchen was simply sparkling. Glasses were drying on the counter and they were so clean she was ashamed of herself.
When she sat down to eat her breakfast, she erupted in a cry of relief. It was not loud, but Pen Pen heard it and left his fridge to check it out. When he saw his mistress in tears came closer to her, rubbing his beak on her right leg. She stopped and looked down, smiled and put him on the table.
Drying her eyes, she spoke to him: "Pen Pen.. Do you think everything is gonna be alright? I hope so, because I don't want them to suffer anymore." Then, she started sobbing again, hugging the small animal with her arms, pouring tears over the confused penguin.
When Asuka awoke, she had already left the apartment, not before having put a not on Shinji's door: 'Welcome back.'.
Asuka made an inspection of the apartment, and decided to wait for him. It was strange that only a single breakfast was ready on the kitchen table, and judging from the state of the house, from the clean clothes in the bathroom and from the note Shinji left her, she understood he'd gone to bed late. Since he hadn't made breakfast for himself, she figured he was going to wake up quite late. The best thing would've been for her to order some food from some delivery store, but then she thought a bit and decided against it. She would instead order some ingredients and then make dinner with her hands.
She was making this decision still with her yellow sundress under her arm, clasped between her right arm and her body. She was wearing her school uniform, that uniform she hated on Ayanami. She was even wearing black socks and white shoes.
While she was planning the dinner, the bell rang. She literally flew to avoid it could ring again. In three sweeps she was by the door and opened it in angrily: "Who the hell.." She was surprised to find there Hikari, Toji and Kensuke..
After helping Asuka and Misato in the quest for Shinji, they had stayed at Misato's place almost the whole afternoon, basically in the living room with Misato, while Asuka was sitting in Shinji's room, not allowing nobody else to enter. Around 20:00, Misato decided it was time for them to get some sleep; Hikari suggested she and Kensuke could go to Toji's place, since he got finally his prosthesis and he had been left free to leave the hospital that afternoon. Since Toji's father was currently working at Nerv, his house was still furnished and habitable. They asked him by phone if he could let them sleep at his place and he was overjoyed: at dinner, later, he would have confided he always ate alone, since his little sister was still in Nerv hospital and his father had the night shift.
Hikari was hiding her happiness, but she had her troubles telling her father she was sleeping, the only female, in a house with two other teenagers, without any adult to watch over her. She had her troubles, even if one was the well know military otaku who would rather buy Military and Defence instead of Playboy, and the other was a mutilated boy. Finally she had the permission, and they could leave in a taxi to Toji's place.
Back at Horaki's new place, Hikari's father was sitting on the couch in front of a dismissed fire place. A faked flame was painted in the interior.
He was engrossed in his thoughts, so he didn't notice someone entering and sitting by him in the couch.
"Dad."
"..."
"Dad!"
"..."
Only a small pinch awoke him from his daydreaming.
"Uh?.. It's you, Kodama.. What is it?"
Kodama was the elder of the Horaki sisters: she was 16, tall and rather well endowed. She hadn't the explosive beauty of a foreign woman as Asuka could have, but if you just took a bit of time in observing her, you could easily be fascinated by her words and manners. She was the one supposed to be the "mother" in Horaki's family, but this role was taken by Hikari when she was 12. In fact, Hikari simply loved her sister, and she would have done anything to help her. So she decided to take care of the family, as her elder sister had done for three years. She was used to say, joking, that by the time it would have been the turn of their little sister their father would've had to find a new wife.
Hikari was attached to her mother's memories, but she was aware that her father couldn't live in the past, and that in any case the three sisters needed a step-mother, specially the little one. For this reason she was always encouraging her father in his relationships with other women, in a rather unlucky way, to tell the truth. The reason was that he was still deeply and painfully attached to the memories of his dead wife himself.
He really loved her a lot, and would refuse any thing that could, in his eyes, make him loose respect for her.
If from one hand Hikari was angry for this attitude of his, she was secretly happy, because she could feel as she was born from a real love. This fact strengthened her romanticism, and gave her a positive attitude towards the life in general.
Kodama, on the other hand, was much like Hikari, but she was growing faster and faster. Her resemblance with her mother was much more evident than for Hikari, who apparently had taken more from her father. He found himself more and more often daydreaming about Kodama, and for this reason he had a soft spot for her. The other sisters knew, but they didn't care. Their father was quite fair in any case.
So, when Kodama pinched him, he simply circled her shoulders with his arm as she sat at his side.
"Still thinking about Hikari?"
"Uh, Uhm."
"You gave her your permission, why are you still thinking about her?"
"You know.. She was supposed to be at the Major's place, and instead.."
"She slept the last two days at our place, you know.."
"It's not only this. Strange rumours are going around NERV in these days.."
"Uh? Another angel? I haven't heard anything about this.."
"How do you explain about the bullshit they told after the first angel? Everybody was aware of what had truly happened, but they sternly continued talking in TV about a stupid little meteorite. The worst thing is that the media know, and don't speak clearly because they are in the payroll of Nerv and similar agencies.. "
"But.. the fact angels are closing on us is now common knowledge! Even my hair-dresser knows
and has somehow seen all of them, while I cannot even remember their form.."
"When Nerv started needing more funds, they were forced to disclose part of the information they were hiding from common people.. the media started talking about angels as if it were normal...
Only some minor newspapers, without any credibility, wrote about the truth from the beginning. They were not silenced because nobody would believe them, and even now, when they claim to have always said the truth and that others have hidden it, nobody has the courage to listen to them and pull off the mask they've been shutting their eyes and ears with. We are a brainless country, Kodama."
"hm.. It seems to me that angels are more than a Japanese only problem. They should worry all mankind...and still...why do they attack only here? Why do other countries build Evas ad then hand them to us? What is so special here for them to attack so relentlessly, dad?"
"I myself asked this question to a superior in my section. You know what he told me?", he left a chuckle escape his lips, "He told me that if I wanted to live enough to see my grandsons, I should mind only my work, and yet.."
"Yet?"
"When I was leaving, already out of the door, he spoke under his breath, in a whisper: 'they're after something we hold here, our only hope as well as our damnation'. I closed the door behind myself and left."
"What is this thing? And why are we talking about this?"
"Because rumours say that Ayanami Rei has been killed."
"The pilot?! Killed?! Who did it? A madman..? I heard of some cults claiming that Nerv was evil and th"
"No, the truth is much worse."
".. What do you mean?"
"From what they say, she was killed she was killed per direct order of Nerv's supreme commander."
".. Ikari's father?"
"Yes."
".. Why?"
"I can only imagine that she was mentally unstable and she was a threat to Nerv."
"Up to the point of killing her?
"You don't now what is at a stake here. Hikari is very close to the pilots, and this is very dangerous. She didn't tellme anything, except that she wanted to keep company to Asuka some more time. But Asuka lives together with Ikari Shinji, and this worries me. Kodama, could you do me a favour?"
"Of course, dad."
"Tomorrow, go there and make sure she's okay, then make up an excuse, no matter how pathetic, to bring her back here. As long as she's here, she'll be safe. She won't listen to me, but if it will be you asking her, I am sure she won't refuse."
"You know, this is not the straightest way to get your daughter to do something..."
"Eh! You don't know what I went through the first time I tried to date your mother!"
"What? Tell me, what happened? I was told the first time you two went out with friends to see Disney's Fantasia, the 50th anniversary I believe.."
"That! Puff! This wasn't our first date! Being stuck in a cinema, for two hours, without talking, without interacting you call it a date, besides, the cinema was full and we had to stand afoot in the back."
"Well.. but then.. I am completely unaware!"
The man laughed whole heartedly: "you know, when I'll tell you the whole story, you'll have the same reaction your mother had."
"Why, what did she do?"
"She slapped me."
"What?"
"You heard well, she slapped me, hard, twice."
"But.."
"Well, a date in a cinema wasn't exactly my idea of a date: you know that your mother was a knockout back then, and I wanted date her at any cost. But she was so far, out of my reach.. The only way to be in the same group as her was to organize a big event, like a barbeque or a cinema event. After a couple of occasion went unfruitful, I came up with my masterpiece. It was in occasion of that film, 'Princess Mononoke' A real masterpiece. I organized everything, we were almost twenty people, and I set up the date after dinner, for the first show at 20:30. I gave everybody else a meeting point, and another one to your mother. The names were the same, to the others I send a note, and I faked to meet your mother by chances. I told her the right place, and waited.
When the day came, I arrived there with my motorbike. She was already there, alone. She was rather upset nobody else was there. We waited for twenty minutes, and finally I snapped out saying that the others could have mistaken the place. I will never forget your mother's expression, she could appear naïve, but I knew she was more than that. Fortunately, she seemed not to understand what was going on. So I could carry on the show. I had put a limited amount of fuel, so my motorbike ran out of it in the middle of nowhere, well.. almost.. The cinema was a big multi-theatre, so it was a little off-hand. We walked an hour before we could refill the tank. When we arrived there it was too late even for the second show. I knew she had not brought the pager, and I had "unfortunately" forgotten mine at home, so no-one disturbed us. Nearby there was a bowling, and we spent almost three hours there playing, because that night the ladies didn't have to pay. It was one of the most beautiful evenings of my life. I found out that I had seen only the shell of your mother until then, and then I had met with her soul. I hadn't thought about it when I had started drooling after her. She impressed me deeply, so that when I brought her home, I had to tell her everything, how I had lied to her, how I had fooled her. I will never forget when she looked at me with a steel stare, made a couple of steps and slapped me. I will never forget what she told me:
'You are one of the most disgusting man I have ever known.'
I didn't know what to do, and I pleaded her to understand, and I started rambling about how much I wanted to date the hottest babe I knew.. that did it, she entered home, and slammed the door shut."
The man paused, an expression of pain crossing his features.
His daughter was intently observing him from her position, leaning over his shoulder, looking up at his chin, seeing as it was slightly trembling. Softly, she encouraged her father to speak on, and he finally continued speaking: "I didn't know what to do. I spent the night pacing back and forth in front of her door for all the night, and I was lucky that it was an apartment door, otherwise the police could've taken me at the station. Before it was dawn I had made my mind and sat in front of the door. When she left the house she found me there. She asked me in an harsh tone what else did I want, and I told her I wanted to apologize, and that I wouldn't leave that spot until she hadn't forgiven me, without even going to the bathroom. She glared me. She told me that I could die there as far she was concerned. She left and was back only by evening, but I was still there, sleeping, because I was pretty tired. She awaked me kicking me in the stomach. She asked if I wanted to give up. I said never, and continued to sleep. She called the police."
"What?"
"Yeah! She called the police, and I had to explain my story at the police station. I think they are still laughing. They asked confirmation to your mother, and then released me upon the promise I would give up. Needless to say, I went back in front of your mother's door, but before I stopped at my place."
"What for?"
"I took two packs of water, and those solutions they give in the hospital to people who cannot eat solid. I knew they were at home because I saw your granny putting them in the closet some time before, to have them for your grand-father would the necessity arise. I left a rather big present in the bathroom and I took an enormous pillow and a plant."
"Wait a minute, why a plant?"
"I thought I was okay as far as the solid side of the matter went bu-"
"Okay, better not to know more."
"Less than 5 hours after they took me, I was positioned again behind your mother's door. You cannot imagine the expression of outrage she was wearing when she opened the door finding me again there. She was steaming all over the body, eye-brows knitted, fists clenched. She shouted she was going to call again the police, and I told her that that was they only way she could get rid of me, because I was going to stay there. Fine, she said, and marched away like a fury. She returned with all the people who knew me, she led them in small groups and made a full account of what had happened, describing how had I fooled her and the police. It was the most humiliating thing in my entire life."
"She was so cruel.."
"No, I deserved it. She didn't deserve to be deceived, even if she suspected something, she had trusted me. I betrayed her trust, so I was going to endure that. It took six days for me to reach my limit, and before someone had to bring me away, I left of my own will. I don't know if she had been watching me through the key-hole, but when I was about to leave she opened the door and triumphantly told me I had lost. I was tired, both mentally and physically, so I'm not sure why did I reply the way I did:' I haven't lost to you, I lost to my endurance. Because, believe me, I was sincere, and I really wanted your forgiveness.' When I came back home, I slept for nearly two days."
"What then?"
"Well.. I woke up to a strange smell, it was bacon and eggs.. I wondered how come my mother had cooked such things. When I went to the kitchen, I found the table set, and your mother serving the food, I stood there, dumbfound, until she reached form me and firmly but gently forced me to sit and to eat. When I finished, I asked her why she was there, and how. She told me that she had had a chat her conscience, and they decided to apologize to me. She told me I was the first guy that had dared to do something like that to her. She asked me why I had told her the truth, back then. I told her that I had already acted bad, and that I could have not forgiven myself if I hadn't told her the truth, with all the consequences. She smiled and told me I was a bad liar, the one a woman would love to marry, I replied she was the fierce woman that every man should make angry."
He paused for a while, then concluded: "This was when we fell in love. Your granny made me the biggest present I had ever had when she let your mother in that morning."
Kodama turned to look at the faked fire in the fire-place, before whispering : "Why didn't you tell me this before?" He patted her hair, and smiled: "Because you weren't old enough."
"I am glad I still remember mom, but Hikari's memories are vague."
"She was still too young when your mother died."
Silence fell upon them, finally Kodama broke it : "You really wanted a son, don't you?"
"What?"
"Why did you try again after two daughters already if not because you wanted a son?"
"Oh, no, Kodama. I didn't want a son, I loved your mother and you all, it just happened she got pregnant again."
"You mean you didn't take precautions?"
His father blushed, and looked away: "Your mother didn't like that kind of stuff.."
Then, trying to lead the discussion to another end, he spoke again: "Darn, I am really worried about Hikari: before it was different, she was sleeping with another girl, and there was only that Kensuke.."
Kodama giggled a bit, not realizing having been diverted from the actually interesting subject: "No way, dad! Don't worry! They are friends..", 'maybe more than friends..', "tomorrow I'll go there and check them, and in any case, they are way too young for ever thinking about sex."
His father regained his colour, blushing a bit, then paling again a second later. Curiosity drove Kodama: "And now what is it?"
"You mean.."
"I mean.. what?"
"You mean you think about sex?"
Asuka was rather polite with them, almost freaking out Kensuke and Toji, excessively polite and concerned about them and their welfare, suggesting them to go and eat in a cheap but rather good restaurant she had heard of. Hikari understood that something was going on, and after being sure her friend was okay and Shinji was sleeping, she left bringing with her the two teenager, helping Toji at each step. In the lift, Kensuke expressed his perplexity: "Asuka is much way nicer the way she is just now..", Toji added: "Maybe an alien abduction?" They burst out laughing, and Hikari spoke last: "I think Asuka is growing..".
Kensuke replied: "And what is all this fuzz about the restaurant? It looked as she wanted to get rid of us!". Toji nodded thoughtfully. Hikari giggled: "You could have a synthetic mind, Kensuke, but you lack basic knowledge of the human soul: she wanted simply stay alone with Shinji."
The two boys looked at her eyes widened, and didn't notice the lift had already reached the ground floor: "You mean Asuka.." started Kensuke "is in love with Shinji?" finished Toji. Hikari happily nodded. Kensuke started moving his arms in wide circles in air: "Oh my god! The devil-girl in love! We're gonna die!" Hikari glared at him sternly while helping Toji to exit the lift: "and how is that strange, Aida? You're the weirdo, only being attracted by the major's curves!"
Kensuke crossed his arms on his chest and snorted: "girlish things!"
Hikari continued: "And it is perfectly natural for her to want to stay alone with the boy she loves."
Kensuke had basically already understood, but he continued in any case his little play: "She wants to be alone with him now that he's weak to take advantage of him, making him do all the chores! Don't you think so, Toji?".
But Toji was having troubles listening to the conversation: Hikari was walking side by side with him, holding his left arm with both of hers, and from time to time he touched her slender frame.
At that moment, he was blushing furiously..
Kenuke looked at him and sighed: "Oh dude! You're hopeless!" then he trailed away.
Hikari asked him: "Where do you think you are going, Mr. Aida?" Kensuke just turned to his left and said without turning back: "I'll meet you at dinner time at that restaurant Asuka spoke about. See you later, sweet-hearts."
Hikari blushed, Toji even more if it was possible, but won that moment of embarrassment asking to the young girl: "Class Rep.. Hikari.." She almost jumped and replied: "Y.. Yeah?" "I am a bit tired, could we please stop on that bench over there?" "Sure, Su.. Toji." And she helped him to sit down, sitting then close to him. From a nearby corner Kensuke surveyed the scene and sighed: "It seems to me that everybody has lost his mind.". He looked around, and recognized the neon sign of an arm-shop. It was open! He ran happily in that direction.
At the same time, at the other end of the city, someone was having trouble finding the double key of the Horaki residence under the usual flower vase. The key was actually missing because Hikari had given it to Kensuke, just in case.
She had already planned not to leave alone Toji from a long time.
So Kodama decided to just sit down and wait. She had a book about the impact of the new technologies on the life of the bees, and she had found herself engrossed in the lecture of the first chapters. Particularly, she found detestable the position of the poor bee-queen. She thought she wasn't going to wait long: 'They will come to eat.. and if this won't be the case, I'll phone to major Katsuragi's place.' She could have phoned the moment she didn't find them in, but she though it'd been an excessive intrusion in her sister's business. So she just sat reading the book.
Once the two stooges and a half (as Asuka was pondering to call them) left, she could resume her plan. However, it wasn't easy to find an open superstore, and even more difficult had been finding one that did delivery service.
When they asked what she wanted, she panicked. She didn't know what to ask, and she hung up saying there was someone at the door. In the kitchen she thought a little, and looked around in search for any ideas. Her eyes fell on a book Shinji bought some time ago, western food.
She flipped the pages looking for something easy to prepare, possibly from Germany, some plate she could easily handle. But she found herself looking for a certain kind of an Italian pasta, spaghetti with "pesto alla genovese". It looked quite easily to prepare: you cook pasta, and that's not difficult to do, you dry it, and then you put pesto sauce on it. You don't need to prepare that special sauce, since in the book was written you could easily find ready pesto in any superstore. You then put some butter in it and that's it. It was written than a real Italian from Genova would rather die than eat a non homemade pesto, but she didn't care (and she wasn't Italian either). The book continued rambling about a certain Hawaiian Pizza, with pine-apple on it, saying it was a gift from the devil.
She flipped the book and read the name of the author: Natale Esposito, Napolitan chef. She shrugged and turned back to the task at hand.
She wanted to impress Shinji, and Shinji was not from Genova. So she all excitedly phoned again to the shop and ordered all the necessary: the most expensive kind of spaghetti and pesto. The woman at the phone didn't know that pesto stuff, and she didn't know if they had it in the store, so Asuka had to wait anxiously that the woman would ask. Finally everything was okay, and Asuka made sure that she had ordered enough food: since it was the first time in her life she cooked something similar, she decided to make a primer for Pen Pen. When she hung the phone she was practically dancing in the kitchen, when she stopped at mid air.. Money!
She ran in her room, but the money she had was surely not sufficient, since she had ordered a lot of things, so she ran in Misato's and started looking for something useful. In the end, Misato would have understood: it was for Shinji after all..
When she had gathered enough money, she relaxed and read the book. Basically, the only crucial point was putting the right amount of salt in the water for the pasta and drying it at the right moment.
The book was careful to say that for such things there simply was not a perfect rule: even the cooking time written in the bag was subjective. The over cooked pasta was something to avoid to all costs, but one not cooked enough wasn't good either. The book suggested the right level of cooking was "al dente", when the pasta had still consistency but it was sufficient a soft pressure applied with a fork to break the spaghetto in two halves. Again, it was a matter of experience. She left the kitchen and used her laptop to connect to the net, trying to make a personal culture over the pasta. She had eaten it before in Germany, but for her it was never the main dish, it had always been a side dish, and come to think about it, she had never liked it.
Anyway, what was done was done, so she had to keep to it.
She was surprised from the amount of information she found on the net. Never would she have imagined there could be so many different kind of pastas, and ways one could prepare it. She was starting to feel angry. Most of them were with vegetables, so Rei could have liked them..
When the bell rang, she flew to the door and took the food.
She glanced at the watch: 12:00. She still had some time.
She weighted the test portion for pen-pen, 100 grams of spaghetti and two big spoon of pesto, 30 grams of butter.
She put a quarter of litre of water and made it boil. She added a coffee spoon of salt and then added the spaghetti. Before she could figure the right way to put then in the pot, she had already broke half of them with the wood spoon, but it was just a try.
On the bag there was written to wait 8 minutes before removing the pot from the fire. She waited 6 and after tasted the spaghetti. They were a bit hard, but she thought they could be okay.
She dried them and put the pesto over them. She spread it well and put the butter on the top of the plate.
The smell was tempting, and she tried a bit of it. The taste was strange, there was olive oil, and something she recognized like garlic and basil. She had to restrain from eating it all, since she wanted to eat it with Shinji. But she could already say the test was a complete success. She looked at the clock: it was 12:43. She called Pen Pen and offered him the food. Since her relations with the penguin had always been full of conflicts, the penguin was rather hesitant in accepting food from her. When she proved to him it was not poison, eating some of it herself, Pen Pen reluctantly approached the plate and smelled it. The first reaction was not encouraging: the smell was quite strong for him, and he backpedaled a bit. Then, like in a spiral motion he grew closer and closer until he started eating the pasta eagerly.
Asuka was sitting on her ankles smiling, and Pen Pen greeted her with an happy "Quaaak!!"
When he was done, she cleaned everything and looked at the watch. Almost 1 o' clock.
It would've been meaningless to start cooking now, since she didn't know when Shinji would wake up, and besides, she needed a bit of time to prepare the meal.
So she reached a compromise: she put a pot on the fire with 3/4Lt of water to get it near boiling temperature, so that she would have the water almost ready by the time Shinji would wake up.
She then set up the table, and when she was left with nothing else to do, she sat on the chair reading the cock book at the gently noise of the water boiling. Even Pen Pen came closer to her and started snoring at her feet.
It was in that position that Shinji found them. Actually, Pen Pen had moved, and was currently sleeping on her lap, and she was slowly rubbing his head with one hand while with the other she was holding the book. She was totally engrossed in the lecture, and she didn't notice his entrance in the kitchen. Her expression was one of a deep concentration: her brows knitted, her stare hard as the steel. It was something he had never seen in her. He had seen her in moments when she was concentrated, but this time she was quiet, there was no sense of menace or violence around her.
He stood there, wondering if a person could ever change so radically in so a short period of time. Then he thought about all what had happened to her: her coma, her kidnapping, her amnesia, Rei's death.
He felt ashamed.
Ashamed because he thought he was the only one hurt from Rei's death, but now he could see how the others had suffered the impact of such a tremendous event.
He could see how Asuka was reacting, how finally she was out of her depression, hopefully forever.
He looked at the kitchen, at the soft steam coming out from the pot, and felt a warm feeling circling his chest.
He stepped further into the kitchen, and finally Asuka noticed him.
He stood there watching how she got animated as she put down a still sleepy Pen Pen, who rubbed his eys with his flippers, and run towards him, practically ordering him to sit down and wait for her while she cooked.
She was over-excited: she started speaking about how much fun was cooking, and how incredible was that book. She started drying the pasta speaking about that particular meat the eat in Greece, laughing about all the fat you could get eating a single plate of strudel.
Shinji sat there, looking at her peacefully, eating that plate and nodding when she asked her if he liked it, when she asked if he wanted more and so on. It was like a party, and Pen Pen underlined the crucial points quacking wildly and jumping on the table a couple of times.
It was like a miracle, and finally Shinji found himself laughing despite himself.
After the meal he helped cleaning the dishes and then headed towards the living room. There he sat on the couch and his mood darkened considerably. Asuka didn't leave him alone for a long time, and when she was done, she went there and sat cross-legged in front of him on the floor, waiting.
Shinji had his elbows resting on his knees, hands joined as in prayer in front of his mouth, his glance lost in space. After a bit he asked her: "Would you go for a walk?"
She was a little surprised, but nodded, standing to get ready. Shinji left the room and took the item he found the night before in Misato's room. He left the room putting something into a small bag he was used to bring on his shoulders. It was for a few seconds, but Asuka had a good glance of the object he was putting inside the bag.
Even if that object was wrapped in a thick cloth, Asuka recognized the shape and paled. her eyes going wide. Shinji didn't give any sign of noticing her discomfort. When he was at the apartment's door he turned to face Asuka, who was still some steps away. He looked at her questioningly: "Are you coming?".
When they were in the lift, Asuka found the courage to ask him: "Where to?"
Shinji face's expression tensed, shadows on his eyes, and simply answered: "Father."
In the very same small lab where Ritsuko had worked after Rei's death, a fervent activity was going on. Basically, Maya was more a dead weight than a real help: she was still crying for the happiness, following the orders of the doctor.
On a roller table a little child was sitting, constantly held under observation from the Nerv Commander, while Ritsuko and Maya were swarming around her like bees around a flower.
Gendo Ikari, commander of Nerv and one of the most powerful people of this world, was sitting on a small stool in a that small lab located in the depths of the geofront. The security measures adopted for that portion of the complex were so tight that only people going with him could breathe there without being sliced in halves by the automatic laser defence system. Only in situations of conditions red lower clearance personnel could be allowed there, like the sub-commander Fukuyutki, Major Katsuragi and the pilots.
Suddenly, the door at other end of the lab from where he was opened with an hiss.
He was startled: nobody could get there, nobody!
All of his enemies had been wiped away, all but SELEE, and that Kaji. But Kaji, as reported by the good doctor, was in heaven, with much appreciation by the rats of Tokyo-3 sewers.
But the black, round and sharp eye that was looking at him told otherwise. A black hole, a barrel, a gun, a couple of eyes.
Gen: "Shinji."
He stood there, looking at him. It was like Shinji KNEW he's been there, in that place, sitting on that stool. It was so clear in his mind that he'd be there that he had pointed the gun and toggled the safe off even before the door had opened. Besides him stood Asuka.
Not worried, not frightened. She stood there, like Shinji had been buying something to eat and she was waiting for him at the counter.
In a matter of seconds he would have shot. Gendo knew, Shinji knew. Asuka simply watched, while Maya and the doctor froze in their tracks.
Gendo was staring into his son's eyes, and what he saw surprised him. It was like looking at his reflection in a mirror. The same resolve, the same cynicism, the same carelessness.
Gen: 'It's over.'
The finger pulled the trigger, and from the black hole a hell of flames erupted. The bullet darted towards him. He saw the walls twist and move apart while the bullet was advancing towards him. He was like mesmerised, he couldn't move, shout or cry. He could see the bullet getting closer and closer, towards his face, towards him. He closed his eyelids. A second thought crossed his mind, and he opened his eyes again. He saw the bullet almost close to hit home, but he looked behind him. He tried to track back its trajectory, finding his origin, and the person who was holding the gun, his son.
He sighed: 'It's right like this.'
And closed again the eyes bracing himself for the impact.
It never came.
He fell on from the stool, bringing along with himself a plate full of medical equipment that had been nearby.
He landed on his back, and looked frantically around, drenched in his own sweat. When he could focus again his glance, his vision still blurred, he saw something white close to him, and someone speaking to him.
Doctor Ritsuko Akagi was knelt down above him, with her right hand checking his pulsations, holding her left arm lifted close to her eyes, counting the heart beats of the commander with her old-fashioned analogue wrist-watch. He tried to stand up, but a harsh command of the doctor froze him where he was. She barked a command to Maya, who ran to a counter pick a light-casting pencil for the doctor. Ritsuko used it to check Gendo's pupillar dilatation and contraction. She barked again some orders in a strange voice Gendo couldn't again figure out. He tried again to stand, but he found himself unable to move, and he found his left arm a bundle of pain. Then he saw in a blur Ritsuko preparing a hypodermic syringe. He tried to speak, but he couldn't. He could only see her tear his blouse and his shirt, holding the syringe high over his chest, her hand trembling slightly the last thing he saw before passing out.
When Maya found the courage to look back, releasing the embrace she had given to the small girl not to let her see what was happening, she saw Ritsuko checking again his pulse and his eyes. She managed to speak: "Do.. Doctor.. is he..?"
Ritsuko shook her head, and stood up. Without turning, she said: "Next to this lab there is a room fully equipped for medical emergencies. Check it out and make it ready."
Maya tried to make more questions: "Bu.. but.."
"JUST-!", Ritsuko breathed again, making the sign to slow down with her hands: "just.. just do what I said. Please."
Maya ran away. Ritsuko knelt down again, watching that face, that chest slowly rising and falling following his breath. She regarded the red spot over his heart. She turned to face the inspection table over her left shoulder. Sitting on the table, naked except for a rather big pair of panties was that small being. She was looking at her with her red eyes wide open, but without any further external sign of agitation.
Ritsuko stood up, and went closer to the girl. She looked her up, and started to dress her. The small girl helped her in the task. When she was finished, she put her on the floor. The little girl walked towards the unconscious Gendo and with her small hand touched his forehead. Then she ran her hands all over his face, still not receiving any response. She turned to Ritsuko, who felt the need to explain: "Hearth stroke."
Meanwhile, Shinji and Asuka had reached their destination; since in case of emergence any delay caused by access-control on the pilots could have deadly consequences, it was an unspoken rule that they needn't be scanned at their entrance in the base.
Shinji had noticed this once, when he had been in queue behind a technician who had had to leave his belt in a security drawer before he could enter. He had instead been able to pass without any problem, even if in his bag there was a stainless-steel compass, a rather deadly weapon in proper hands. He knew, or at least he hoped to, what he was doing when he passed the control point with his id-card and a certain item. He inwardly laughed at their ineptitude: 'they didn't even bother to deactivate my login!'.
Asuka had kept silent all the time, but just before they reached Gendo's office, she grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. He looked back at her, and she asked: "Do you really want to do it?"
He looked back at her and freed his arm, and hissed to her. "Have you already forgotten what he did to you? What he did to me? What he did to Rei? Have you forgotten how he hurt Toji, beside what Kensuke could say? Have you already forgotten that he is the solely responsible for this hell? Have you already forgotten he deliberately and at cold-bloodily killed Rei in front of your very eyes? I'll never forgive him, never! Others will fight the angels! I, repeat, I want to get rid of him! Rei's blood is screaming for vengeance! You cannot imagine the nightmares I had! The hatred I feel! Every cell in my body is screaming for his blood! I cannot let him do more harm to the ones I love! I have to protect them! And if this means to stain my hands with my own father's blood, I will do it."
She looked down and he added: "You can stay here if you want. I am not forcing you anymore."
He resumed walking when she spoke again: "Wait! Wait.. for me". He simply slowed down, waiting for her to catch up.
But, as human beings learn during their life, plans aren't always meant to be fulfilled. Even with the security hole Shinji had cleverly found and used to his advantage, a complex organisation like the Nerv had a fail-safe design.
Had been Shinji more experienced, he wouldn't have been caught the time he tried to enter his father's office. Since no special restriction had been emitted regarding the pilot access into the base, the automatic defence system had not raised to the presence of the second and the third child inside the Nerv facilities. But since all the people working in the Nerv knew at that time what had happened to the first child, it was no surprise that the guards standing in protection of Gendo's office reacted giving the alarm, rudely handcuffing the children and reducing them to the silence.
It had been an idea of the security's chief to spread the voice between the people working in or with his division that the pilots were becoming more and more mentally unstable due to the continuos stress they were subjected, and that they were becoming dangerous.
The fact that it was a general opinion that soldiers should pilot the Evas rather than teenagers, coupled to the widespread hostility towards the first child (a lot of people found her 'creepy' to say the least) made the rest.
Shinji and Asuka ended up their journey in the security's chief's office. It all happened in such a rush that they even forgot to search them. The next logical step would had been to call the commander, but since he was unavailable, Misato was finally requested to check with the security's chief as the highest military Nerv personnel in rank. In a similar circumstance, Misato would had to be the children's inquisitor, but the fact that she was their guardian didn't help. Fortunately, she was in the right frame of mind to take with her Hyuga.
In the chief's office, four people were sitting around a desk: the security's chief behind it, with the well-known agent Ranko to his left, while Hyuga stood by Misato's right side at the other end of the table. The discussion was fierce and long, though since the very beginning it appeared that very security's chief wasn't very concerned about the task at hand, allowing Ranko to lead the way. This turned out to be a positive fact for the major's side. She was more a woman of action rather than a bureaucrat: Hyuga felt a sort of perverse sense of revenge when he could appeal to some unknown Nerv's rules to give back the children to the major.
His presence was a blessing, otherwise, as used as Misato was to face-to-face confrontation, she would have punched Ranko in the face from the very beginning. Perhaps she was a genius in tactical, but she was not good in bureaucracy. When the four of them, Hyuga, Misato and the children, left the office, Ranko hit the chief's desk with both her hands: "Chief! That Hyuga guy is dangerous! He already tried once to prevent me from fulfilling my duties! I bet he is manipulating the major! Those children are in a dazed state! They cannot be left free to act freely!"
The chief looked at her impassably and replied: "And what can two children do, sergeant Aoyama Ranko?", looking his nails. "Their guardian is with them. We have no authority in such cases."
Ran: "They could take those fucking machines and stomp on us! I am not deaf, chief! I've heard what happened, and the possibility they are going to take their revenge it way too high to leave them free to move in the base! They are angry towards the commander! They could raise a war!"
The chief, still sitting on his wheel chair turned giving his back to the woman: "Those fucking machines, like you call them, fought the angels, sergeant. Is your memory so short? You should be thankful to them."
Ranko tensed: "I am of the idea that a real soldier should drive them, not the son of the commander."
The chief chuckled : "I don't figure the commander like giving a multi-billion dollars machine to a child hating him, and to a red-head little bitch of his own free will. Besides, my reports say you were very friendly with them.."
Ranko tensed, it was her soft spot: "Still.."
Chief: "They cannot activate those machines alone. They are harmless."
She hit again the desk : "We don't know a damn thing about those monsters! For what I know, I wouldn't be surprised if we found one of the evas dancing inside the Tokyo 3 golden dome one of this mornings! Remember what happened with Unit-4!"
The chief asked: "What do you suggest to do?" The woman composed herself and replayed, in a more professional way: "Follow them every where. Spy Katsuragi's orders and actions, keep an eye over the tactical operator Hyuga Makoto. Maintain a low profile while we wait to find the whereabouts of the commander."
The chief turned to face her and smiled: "Oh! But we know where he is!"
Ranko was speechless: "We.. We do?"
The chief nodded smiling: "He is in the depths of the complex working with doctor Akagi and lieutenant Ibuki."
Ranko was confused: "Then.. Then.. why didn't you call him and.."
The expression over the face of the chief of security fell down: he hissed between his teeth: "Because I would prefer cutting both my balls and putting them into my mouth rather than disturbing him now, considering the instructions I have received. Now get the fuck out of here before I'll kick your sorry ass up to the moon! Go and play with that doctor and the nurse!"
She had no choice if not of leaving in a hurry.
He mumbled under his breath: "Idiot!"
Misato and the children were in a small room close to the tactical room. Hyuga had brought some tea and something to eat, and had been sitting for a couple of minutes on a chair close to the desk. Since both of the two children were being perfectly silent, unaware of the tea cups in front of them, he excused himself and left the room, before Misato would ask him to do it.
Misato was sitting in front of the two children, speaking softly, but she couldn't get any reply.
"Shinji.. I'm not mad at you at all! The security is to blame for all this fuss. I am glad you're here, though I would have expected a phone call by one of you." Saying so, she shot a dart glare towards Asuka, who didn't buldge.
"I can even understand that you wanted to speak to your father, but right now? Wouldn't it be better to wait a bit? You once told me that there is a time to fight and a time to wait, didn't you, Shinji?"
He was now silently looking at his cup of tea. His grip over the bag he was holding over his shoulders tightened. His silence, above all, made Misato worry. She took his left hand that was resting on the table into hers and spoke again:"Shinji.. You spoke with them, you spoke with your father's assistant, but you don't want to speak to me?"
Tears started flowing from her eyes, while she lowered her head over her hands and his, pressing her fore-head against them: "I.. back at home.. looking at that note, I thought you had forgiven me.. for what I did to you.. now.. why.. why won't you speak to me? Please, Shinji, please.. speak to me.."
Asuka watched the scene with a sense of wonder: never had she seen Misato in such a state, and she felt something akin to jealousy. But she understood how Shinji deserved all the love of Misato, while she had always kept at distance with her. She lowered her head, and slow and bitter tears started running over her face as well.
Meanwhile Misato had stood up and circled the table to kneel down close to Shinji, always holding his hand. Her tears where by then flowing like a flooding river, and Shinji was fighting back with all his desperation the tears he already felt in his eyes.
When Misato repeated again: "Please.. Shinji..Don't hate me.." he couldn't restrain himself anymore, and he threw himself at her, getting off the chair and almost throwing her off balance. She was surprised, but when she finally heard his sobs, when she felt his tears on her skin, when she heard him speak, saying that he never hated her, that he loved her, she hugged him with all her strength, as if her life depended on it:"I don't hate you, Misato! It's not that.. It's not that..". With her left arm she circled his body, and with her right she circled his head, pressing it over her left shoulder, rocking back and forth, as if she was cradling a baby and singing a lullaby.
She was silent though, she couldn't say anything, so full of joy she was, tears, now of joy, streaming her cheeks. Her vision was blurred, but something caught her attention: Asuka. Asuka, who was sitting on her chair, her body tense, her hands over her knees gripping them, the nails almost cutting her soft flesh.
She was looking at them, in a way made Misato immediately understand what she was feeling.
Loneliness, rejection, desperation, jealousy.
She lifted and outstretched her right arm towards her, the back of her hand held up: "Asuka.." Asuka's head jerked sharply towards her, an expression of surprise on her face.. "Asuka.. Come here."
Tension was leaving its place inside Asuka to a sensation of loss and confusion: she looked at Misato's face, at her outstretched hand, at her face again, and finally at Shinji's head.
Misato followed her gaze and shook her head: "Shinji's not the only one I am happy to see.. Asuka.. I'm sorry.. I was more concerned about Shinji, because he had to undergo a lot of stress, what happened to him, what happened to you, what happened to Rei.. Asuka.. I'm sorry, I didn't have the
chance to greet you.. I know our relationship has been difficult. I've tried my best, and if I acted bad, it was because of inexperience.
Please, Asuka, come here.". Stunned, Asuka listened to Misato, who had her hand still outstretched. She lifted her own, and slowly, shakily touched Misato's. Misato took it gently and drew her slowly to herself.
Asuka was forced to stand up and to step closer to Misato. When she was standing by her, Misato spoke again: "Would you like to start it all over? Wouldn't you like us to be like a family, Asuka?
Would you like it? We all have suffered.. I had a bad relationship with my father.. He left my mother, and died almost in front of my eyes..
These things change the way we are, but we should fight against them.. Asuka, the past is the past, don't let it influence your future.. I promise.. I will try to be there, every time you will need me.. Asuka, please.. hug me.."
And Asuka almost crumpled on the floor, crying out loudly her solitude, her desperation, her need for love and affect, hugging Misato and Shinji with all her strength..
Hyuga switched off the monitor, dropped his headphones sighing.. 'She is definitely out of my reach.' He turned around the chair where he was sitting, turning to face Shingeru's back: "Aoba?". The long haired technician looked back at him from his terminal with a questioning expression.
Hyg: "What do you think about the Major?"
Shigeru shuddered: "We have talked about this thousands of times: it's better for you to forget her. For her the only man is Kaji, and, my dear friend, you cannot compete with the lady's distress! You should better focus on other preys, like that chick Ibuki, mhh! I love her!" He spoke miming passionate kiss on an imaginary woman he was holding between his arms. Hyuga shoved it aside with a harsh movement of his right hand, snorting loudly: "And you? Still behind the skirts of the little girl?"
The other guy regarded him with wide eyes: "Hey, man! You're the weirdo here! Who else in the world would track an older woman? It's the other way around, dude!"
Hyuga gave Shingeru his back, hissing: "You don't now what charm is."
Shingeru, turning back to the console, and to the manga hidden under it, replied: "Whatever you say, obuddy, but remember, the true love doesn't exist.".
Hyuga snorted: "I wish I could base a relationship on sex like you do, Aoba."
The young technician didn't reply, but muttered under his breath: "It's not like this." His glance fell on his guitar, which he kept under the console. He looked around, and seeing as nobody was watching him, he put the guitar's case on his lap and opened it. The case was internally covered with a synthetic fur, and in the middle of the upper side there was written the guitar's brand. Below it there was another name, roughly written. It was a female name. Shingeru stood in contemplation for a while, then closed the case with a sigh and put it back under the console.
In the meanwhile, Hyuga looked at the now black monitor, mumbling to himself: "I hope they had the kindness to turn off the monitors as I did.."
In the office of the chief of security, someone sneezed, then stopped the vcr and called his secretary: "Bring me a coffee, no sugar, an anti glycaemia medicine and the last Jurassik Park's movie." Then added: "No, bring me Halloween 34: the dark side of the moon, uncut edition. I need it".
But the unknowing actors weren't at the top of their performance yet. Actually, the audience, that is Hyuga or the security officers, missed the most important and traumatic act.
The incipit of the main act was ignited by Asuka when in her wild movements she pushed the bag resting on Shinji's shoulders against Misato's chest. Due the particular displacement of the object in the bag, Misato felt something she could recognize like the barrel of a gun pressing against her chest.
She tensed, unaware of the situation, then pushed gently away the two teenagers trying to figure out what was happening. Asuka and Shinji were still sobbing sitting on their knees, and she gently told them it was time to stop sobbing. While they were trying to comply, she had the time to observe the situation. To her expert eyes, by all means they were not hiding a gun in their clothes: there was no room for it.
Then the string of Shinji's bag caught her attention. She had to check it out. She stood and went to the table. As usual for a conference room, there were glasses and bottles of water, so she filled two of them and went back to Asuka and Shinji. She kneeled down between them, giving the first glass to Asuka to her right with her left hand, the other to Shinji with her right.
While he was still trying to calm himself enough to hold the glass without spilling the water everywhere, she put a hand on his back so to console him, speaking words of reassurance. She quickly searched by touch and weight the content of the bag, and her suspicions were confirmed. She tried to think about a rational course of action, while the two teenagers slowly recomposed themselves.
Finally she stood up and motioned them to stand up as well. "Now I want you tow to go to the bathroom, wash your faces and dry your eyes. After that, Asuka will go home first and will buy something to cook in the microwave oven..", at this point Asuka was going to protest, saying she was able to cook better meals, but reconsidered it, deciding to make her a surprise, so she smiled secretively and simply nodded, ".. while Shinji has to stay here with me."
Shinji had his head still lowered, but Asuka this time said: "And why has Shinji to stay here?" Misato regarded her gravely: "Because I fought and obtained the authorization to bring home Shinji immediately only if get him to tell me where Rei's body is, once he got better." Shinji tensed, and tried to break free from Misato's embrace, but she wrestled and pressed him harder against her: "Now, Asuka, go."
Her tone of voice was mandatory. Asuka had no other option if not leaving them. She was depressed at first, but after thinking a bit about what she could prepare and lightened noticeably. By the time she was outside the Nerv complex, she was almost running: she couldn't decide herself between German sausages with vegetables and roast-beef with chilli. There was not much time before dinner, so she ran in the direction of the closest superstore.
Once Asuka left, Shinji tried again once or twice to break free from the bear hug of Misato, each time more weakly, finally resting his arms along his body. So Misato released her grip but kept him at arms length, holding him by his shoulders: "Now, Shinji, we have to speak."
He simply nodded.
Misato sighed: "I understand. Nobody except Nerv personnel is aware of this. They were very good and fast at covering this. I will only need to report to your father. I don't think he will find unbelievable what you just said to me."
He slowly nodded, so drained of his energy, that he couldn't find the strength to feel angry towards that person.
He made to stand from his sitting position, when Misato stopped him: "Just another little thing, Shinji."
He looked at her extremely tired: "I thought I had that little toy you have over there carefully hidden."
Shinji smiled sadly: "You would never guess where you sometimes end up putting your dismissed clothes when you are drunk.", a small grin over his face.
Misato paled: actually, that gun was under her most seductive under-wears, in the same drawer with her anti-pregnancy pills.
Kodama was growing impatient. It was already a couple of hours after lunch time, and she hadn't had anything yet. Nobody was at the Major's, and she had started wondering if it hadn't been a mistake to arrive without having informed anyone. She then spotted one of her preys. It was an average tall boy, freckles over his face, wearing a pair of thin glasses. She had never seen him before, not even when she occasionally accompanied her smaller sister at school. She was in any case able to recognize him from Hikari's description, and by the fact that Hikari was there with two boys, one of them missing a leg, Toji, the other one in full health.
He was slowly climbing the small path leading to the front door. He was playing with something in his right hand she recognized like a key, while with the other hand was reading a news-paper of some sort, without even looking where he was walking.
Kodama watched him a little more, then giggled and ran to hide behind a nearby corner. From there she saw the boy approach the house, standing still in front of the door totally engrossed in what he was reading. He stood there for a minute or two, and Kodama grew impatient. She stealthily left her spot and circled the boy, ending up behind his shoulders.
As he finally decided to give the proper attention to the lock, just about to enter the house, she almost shouted, miming her little sister: "Mr. Aida! What do you think you are doing?"
Poor Kensuke almost had a heart attack: he jumped in middle air, the grip on his news-paper loosening, it falling on the floor, and then turned to face the source of the shout blushing deeply, eyes cast down: "I.. I am sorry, class rep. I forgot to clean my shoes.". He started rubbing his shoes over the door-mat, when a strange laugh make him raise his eyes. In front of him was standing a girl of 16, maybe 17 years, tall, rather well endowed, and with beautiful long hair spread over her shoulders, down to her waist. He didn't have time to look her up better, because the fact that she had just made fun of him got him angry. So he recovered, adjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose, and put his hands over his hips: "And now who the hell are you."
She was still giggling, and replied: "I am Kodama, Hikari's elder sister. I just came to check on you."
He looked at her upset: "Nonsense. We weren't waiting anyone."
She looked at him a bit surprised: "Well.. I wanted to make a surprise.."
"Oh, really? And do you have an ID to prove you live here?"
She looked at him in amazement: "You think I'm a thief or what?"
He stood boldly in the door-frame, and replied: "Until I don't have sound proof that you are who you claim to be, I won't allow you to enter this house. Now, can you prove who you are? Have you got the school id?" Kensuke knew she was who she claimed to be, since she had called him by his name, and he knew Hikari had a sister of that age, but he wanted to pay her back for that little joke of hers.
She looked at him rather surprised, then grew angry: "Oh you little brat! You are saying you won't let me in in my own house, where you are simply a guest?"
"I didn't say that. Let me know if you are in reality Kodama Horaki and I'll let you in."
She threw her bag on the ground: "Fine then! Let's see." She took her wallet, but the only id document she could find was her gym pass. She gave it to Kensuke. He looked it over 'artistic dance, bha!'. He gave it back to her: "Since this pass is missing the picture, it could be stolen. It doesn't mean anything."
She was fuming now: "Okay! Then why don't you go inside and check the picture! On the desk in Hikari's room there is a picture of us three sisters."
He regarded her suspiciously and added "Hold on." before closing the door.
He went to the room, looked the picture. There were no doubts. Then he went to the kitchen to eat a couple of biscuits. Only when the bell started to ring insistently, he went back to the main door, and opened it.
"Well? Are you happy now?"
He looked the picture, then her, then again the picture: "You're fatter than you look in the picture."
If mount Fuji could still erupt (impossible in the post-second impact japan), it would be no match to what happened to that girl. She leapt against him loading for him a slap that could make Asuka run for it, but Kensuke knew he had gone too far and hastily retreated inside the house: "Hikari and Toji will come later. Toji can't walk normally, and needs to rest from time to time.".
With this her anger abandoned her, and she nodded. She went outside and collected her belongings. When she put her things in order and looked for him, she found him washing the dishes in the kitchen. She sat at the table, looking his back with her face resting on her hands: "Didn't anybody ever tell you you're a real jerk?" He replied without turning back: "Only silly girls.".
He was lucky on the table there was only a plastic glass and not a knife.
Asuka was in the kitchen, her school uniform still on, wearing a red apron, with her hair collected with a white foulard. She was cooking a steak, using white wine, oregano, and salt. It was a very simply recipe, but the smell was making her drool. Pen Pen was helping her, bringing her what she needed, like small glasses to pour the right amount of wine, the salt-cellar, the plates. As usual, this was her first try for Pen Pen. Theoretically, Pen Pen was a penguin, so he was not supposed to eat meat, but all the junk food Misato made him eat had probably modified his stomach. So he was drooling as well. The worst thing was that Asuka was keeping him from drinking beer, because in her opinion it would have ruined the taste of the meat.
When Asuka finished cooking it, she put the plate on the table, cut the meat in small pieces Pen Pen could easily pick up and eat, and tried two or three of them. It was delicious. Even Pen Pen agreed with her, cleaning the dish in record time. Even if the meat was delicious, Pen Pen made clear to Asuka he was still a bit hungry. She looked down at him and replied: "Well.. maybe you are right.. a salad could be the right side plate." She hadn't bought anything useful, and in the fridge there was no vegetables to be seen. So she cleaned the dishes and the pan, cleaned the place and looked at the clock: still one hour to the time she and Shinji were used to eat when it was him who cooked.
She removed the foulard and the apron, but before she leaft she made a phone call: "Misato?", "Oh, Asuka it's you..", "Yeah.. I wanted to know.. if you and Shinji are done speaking." Misato looked across her desk towards the couch in the other side of her office, where Shinji was lying looking at the ceiling. "Yeah.. You could say we have spoken.".
Asuka bit her lower lip: "Well.. I was wondering.. when are you coming to eat?" she added hurriedly: "because you are coming back this evening, aren't you?" Misato smiled inwardly: "Yeah.. I think so.. I think we will be there.. in two hours. Do I need to buy something at the take away?" "No! No! I will take care of everything, don't worry.. oh.. Misato.. I took some money from your desk drawer.. I needed to buy some food.."
Misato looked perplexed at the receiver: 'I really have to hide my things more carefully..', "Well.. It's okay, Asuka.. Why didn't you buy the things in the super-shop where we have an open account?", "Because it is closed." A lot of people had left Tokyo 3 in the last days, so it was no wonder that super-stores and other shops were closing as well.. "Oh.. I see.. Well.. Wait! Why don't you call your friends?" "Hikari and the two stooges?" "You should stop calling them in that way. I think it would be good for Shinji." "... Okay. See you later.".
Shinji turned his face to look at Misato: "We will have guests at home this evening, Shinji." He returned to face the ceiling: "I don't feel like it."
Misato stood up and went to sit close to him, caressing his hair: "They are your friends.. besides.. it will the right time to meet Toji.. They told me you two haven't talked yet.." He stiffened a bit, then relaxed.. "I guess you're right.." She went back to her desk, smiling. When she looked back at her terminal, she read that the commander wasn't going to receive her yet. She called his attendant again, who again told her he was involved in an important operation he couldn't be disturbed from. Due to priority reasons, the major was granted permission to leave and make her report when the commander would be free to receive her.
She hung up the phone and sighed: 'I wonder what is he up to now.'
At that time, Gendo Ikari, supreme commander of Nerv, was slowly regaining conscience. He found himself lying on a bed, and when he tried to move, he found himself restrained by his hands and feet. He looked around, but as he didn't have his glasses on he couldn't see things clearly. While he was trying to regain freedom of movement, he sensed some movement to his left and turned, as much as he could, in that direction. Someone put his glasses on. It was Ritsuko: "Well awake, commander. It has been three hours by now."
He looked sternly at her, then he looked around. In a corner, there was the small child playing with a small ball made of paper and adhesive tape. Nobody else was in the room. "Where is lieutenant Ibuki?" "I sent her home, with the precise order not to speak with anyone of this." "Are you sure she won't speak?" "I still trust persons, and someone still trusts me." "He smirked: "how sweet."
Then he lied back, gazing at the ceiling: "Did I have a heart attack?"
"Yes. It was so violent I had to inject adrenaline directly in your hearth. He looked down at his chest, now hidden by the sheets and an hospital gown. He could feel his trousers were still on. "And why are you keeping me restrained, doctor?" "You should be kept under observation for at least 12 hours after the accident, only to make the analyses and, if the need arises, apply one or more bypasses. I didn't know a person with so high responsibilities could be left in his place while being subjected to such dangerous illness."
He didn't reply, while she started making some checks on the machines around him.
He spoke: "My physical health has always been perfect.", "This doesn't mean anything, and you know it. The DNA exams are the only ones that could testify the tendency of a subject to a certain illness."
"My DNA sequence is flawless."
"Well.. I assume a perfect body can still be affected by the stress his owner is subjected."
"The mind.."
"What?"
"Mens sana in corpore sano."
"Is this the time to remember Latin quotes?"
"I wonder.."
"What?"
"Could a rotten mind corrupt a perfect body?"
Ritsuko left the task at hand to look at him. Just for a moment she had the impression his eyes were watery, as he was going to cry. He lowered his eyelids and spoke again: "Give me something to sleep. I have to be ready as soon as possible. In a couple of days Fuyutsuki will be back from Nerv Second Branch in Nevada, and the committee won't keep inactive for much longer." "Second Branch? Nevada? Is something left there?" "Only some hypotheses.". She took a syringe and started toying with it: "What should I do with your attendant?"
"He's been instructed to not disturb me until I'll show up in my office. You will be allright. There is a restroom and food in abundance. There are also clothes in a closet. You won't miss anything, and I am sure the little child won't miss anything either." "I see. What if it becomes necessary to operate on you?" "I am confident it won't be necessary. I have", he smirked, "a trump card in my sleeve. I will be okay."
He stopped speaking, and she had no choice but to give him some sleeping serum. She waited for a few minutes, listening to the soft sounds and beeps of the instruments surrounding the commander. She let go a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding, and looked down at her hand. She was gripping the bed sheets. She sighed again and tried to remove the wrinkles from them. Doing so, she accidentally brushed against Gendo's hand.
She felt her heart race, but nothing happened. His pulse was the same, no visible alterations on the instruments.
She started playing absently with his hand, keeping it in hers. She asked to herself, looking down to
her hands. "Will you hurt Rei again, like before?"
And Gendo's voice softly but sharply answered: "Her name is Yui."
Shocked, Ritsuko let go of his hand and backpedaled against the wall, plastering herself against it.
She looked horrifiedly to that silent figure, and only fifteen minutes after she dared to approach him again.
That was when she felt observed, and turned to look at the girl. She was intensely looking at them. When Ritsuko tried to smile to her, she simply turned her face away and continued to play with the wall, throwing the ball against it, collecting it and throwing it again against the wall.
Ritsuko regarded her, then walked to her, kneeling down. The small girl gazed at her questioningly. She took the ball and asked her: "would you like to play with me, Yui? The small child simply took back the ball and threw it to her. They continued silently playing that rudimental ping-pong for a long time.
When Hikari and Toji finally reached her home, they found a strange scheme unfolding in front of their eyes. As they called for Kensuke while entering the apartment, nobody bothered to reply, and so they assumed they were alone. They headed towards the living room, where Toji could rest on the large couch. To get to said room required some time, so they talked a bit in the process: "I am sure It is as I told you: Kensuke did it on purpose." "But.. Why should he.. I mean.. I was.. oh, God.." Hikari stopped, seeing Toji blushing hopeless.
She giggled a bit, but didn't show it to him: "I think that to judge something properly you should be impartial and extraneous, that was..EEP!" She almost jumped, bringing Toji along. His right leg gave way, and his left arm being held by Hikari he fell on the ground with a loud thump and a groan. Hikari immediately kneeled down frantically apologizing. Toji was replying he was okay, when he felt someone grab him from behind his chest lifting him: 'Man! I'd never thought Hikari was so strong'.
When he was finally standing, he found Hikari looking worried in front of him, and his helper releasing his chest. He blinked once, then twice, then turned to a side seeing the familiar hair of Kensuke Aida sitting to a chair to the left of the door he had just passed through. He was going to beat the living hell out of him, when he noticed his eyes darting from him to somewhere else in the room. He turned his face to the other side of the room, finding a young and rather attractive girl sitting on an armchair, her hair held back by a foulard one leg crossed over the other, a side of her skirt giving his eyes access to her rather interesting legs.
Before he could formulate any hypothesis, or even worse, do anything that could damage his relationship with Hikari, the girl stood and, still glaring at Kensuke with a glare that would be an understatement to define as ice cold, asked: "I assume you recognize this moron as your friend Kensuke Aida, right, sis?"
Toji looked back at Hikari, who was now besides him, more looking for a hiding rather than to help him up. The view of the class representative afraid of somebody had him awe-struck, and since he couldn't really see behind his back like flies do, he kept his gaze on that.. babe.. he had in front of his eyes. He also noticed Kensuke's frown at the world moron, and felt Hikari squirm under her presence.
Indeed, Hikari had never seen her sister so angry, in fact it was really to get her angry, and she was know to be rather harsh dealing with the people sympathizing with her "enemies". She remembered she had once made a boy cry with just a few words of disdain and disgust. Now that she thought better about it... She peeked from behind Toji's back towards Kensuke, who wasn't mirroring her cowering attitude. He instead looked annoyed, with such an expression on his face like he was on the dentist's chair. This surprised her to a certain extent, since her sister's wrath couldn't have waited for her arrival to explode.
That could only mean the had already argued. Badly.
Thinking back to what she had told Kensuke back in the van when they were being brought to Nerv, she frowned, thinking: 'They must've had a bad start..'. She found the courage to show herself and to speak, since everybody was waiting for her, Toji not daring to move before better understanding what was going on.
"Y.. Yeah.. he is Kensuke Aida, classmate of mine, of Toji's, of Shinji's and Asuka's.. As well as.." she hesitated, then, ".. nothing."
Her sister gazed menacingly towards a smirking Kensuke, then: "I would've thought you would choose better your friends, Hikari." Hikari gulped, and was gathering the courage to reply, when Toji finally decided to draw the line: "And what is that supposed to mean, huh? I understand you are Hikari's elder
sister, Nozomi.." She corrected him hissing between her teeth: "KODAMA. Nozomi is our little sister." Kensuke looked at his friend and saw he was grinning :"Oh, really? Sorry.. You know.. we morons are so dumb.." She turned to face him: "What is your business here, pal? I didn't call you moron, I called him." Kensuke was listening carefully, as Hikari was.
"It's like you did, because he is one of my dearest friend, like a brother to me. So I want you to apologize to him." She looked at him outraged: "Why you little..! To be insulted in my own house! You're like him already! I think Asuka was wrong when she called you in her gossip with Hikari the two stooges. I think the two morons would be probably a better definition for you two."
This time was Kensuke's turn: "How dare you! Do you know who is he? Do you? Do you now what he's been through, and why? I can't believe you are Hikari's elder sister! To think I was curious to meet you! I hated you from the first instant!"
Kodama snapped towards Hikari, who almost jumped back in surprise, and while speaking, she gestured towards Kensuke with her left hand, then lowering it along her slender frame: "Hikari! Will you stand there letting your own elder sister be insulted by these two brats! Had I know the famous Toji was like this I would have never given my support to your idea to have him as your boyfriend."
Her words didn't obtain the desired effect, well, they did from one point of view, for Toji paled so much that he could've been a match for the very Rei, while Hikari reddened considerably. Kensuke gulped, well no, sighed.. uh, actually snickered. Kodama looked at the scene stunned, then turned towards Kensuke, who was desperately trying to keep his mouth shut with the help of one hand, the matching elbow kept to the chest with the other arm.
He was sitting unsteady, he looked like a too tall stack of books that was about to loose its balance and to fall down. Small fireworks were escaping from its structure under the form of small snickers. She directed her gaze towards her sister and moron number 2 again, and found them matching in colour, maybe Toji a little redder than Hikari to correct the previous paling: 'What the hell..?'
Fortunately, the phone rang, and you could bet that hadn't it been for his leg, Toji would have jumped over the couch and wrestled with Kensuke to take the phone. Since that was not the case, Kensuke won easily. Hikari gave up from the start, because getting the phone would have meant passing in front of Toji, and _that_ would have meant showing him her current skin colour. Kensuke shouted laughing almost hysterically: "Hey it's Asuka over there!" "Asuka!! Let me talk her!", Toji shouted with excessive enthusiasm, seemingly overjoyed upon hearing her name. He moved to reach the phone. He would've fallen hadn't Hikari hurriedly helped him. They trailed towards the small table where sat the telephone that had almost turned Kensuke deaf a pair of mornings before. Kensuke was speaking at the phone: "I cannot believe it! It's really you, Asuka!", he laughed, "long time no see!" , more laughs.
Toji was now close enough to grab the phone: "Hello, Soryu! How are you! How is Pen Pen? And Misato? Is there Shinji?", Kensuke grabbed the phone again: "You know, today Toji made a man trip since he was kicking his leg on purpose, and then apologized to him.." By then he couldn't restrain himself anymore and exploded, launching himself at Toji, and both falling on the floor rolling on the carpet and laughing to tears. Hikari took the phone and asked flatly: "Yes, Asuka?"
Asuka was keeping the receiver at arm's length. Only when she heard her friend's voice, she brought it again to her hear and spoke: "Hikari.. I hear a little commotion over there.." "Well.. You know.." She pressed on: "They didn't make improper use of the camomile, did they?" "Eh? Camomile? Proper use?" Asuka sighed: "Are they drunk or what?" " Well.. We ..We were watching a funny movie.." "Uhmm.." Asuka wondered if it was the right thing to do to ask them to come at her place. Then she thought about Shinji, about what had happened, about what he was going to do.. and she wished they were with him right there and then. "Hikari, would you like to come here for dinner? I am cooki-" but she could not finish the sentence because Hikari hurriedly replied: "Yeah! Yeah! It's a great idea! We are coming immediately! I will drop by a supermarket in the way, so I'll help you! I am coming along with my sister, see you in a while!" "Wait! Wait! I don't need.. sister? What.. "
She turned the receiver so it was facing her: "She.. hung up on me..". She looked down at PenPen, who was currently sipping from his tequila bum-bum wearing black spectacles. He looked at her quizzically. "I hope they have the same alcohol tolerance you have, Pen Pen.". He took another sip, shuddered, and thought: "Rookies! The worst kind of all."
Asuka looked thoughtfully at the phone: 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.. Seven?' Almost reading her mind PenPen quacked. She looked down at him. He looked up at her, occasionally stealing stealthily glances at her underwear from his pillow, looking her over his spectacles, like James Belushi in The Blues Brothers, with an intense stare: "Oh, come on! You already ate! And you are having the after-lunch as well!". He looked back at his drink, shook it a bit, turned to her again, and smirked, giving her an impression like: "You can always find a place in your stomach for something more."
Asuka snorted: "Okay, Okay! What's the problem, to feed two mouths more is not going to ruin me."
Pen Pen took a sip of his drink and burped, a grin of satisfaction across his face. He patted his stomach and burped again. His grin widened.
End chapter 10
Wow, that was long. Very long. Next Chapter will be very, very short, as far there will
be still someone willing to read and to pre-read it..