The Digital Underground Presents
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
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Chapter 2: Broken Hearts are Hard to Mend
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Stepping out of her room, Asuka's senses immediately alerted her that breakfast was ready.
"Good Morning Asuka. Breakfast is ready, sausages and eggs!" greeted Shinji in an oversized apron.
Asuka giggled at the sight before her. "Morning Shinji, nice outfit!"
Shinji blushed. "Huh? Oh yeah...the apron. I didn't want to get oil on my uniform." He placed a plate in front of Asuka.
Asuka cut a piece of sausage, checked it was cooked all the way through, and then took a tentative bite. A smile crossed her face before she dug into breakfast. "Mmmm...good..." she managed to get out between mouthfuls.
Shinji found himself staring as a content Asuka hungrily devoured her food.
"Shinji!"
"Huh..yes?"
"Are you going to have some or are you going to stand there all day?"
"Hehe." Shinji laughed sheepishly before serving himself and joining Asuka at the table.
Being in a good mood that morning, Asuka took a seat back at the table after finishing her breakfast and waited for Shinji to finish so they could head off to school together. After a few seconds she decided to break the silence. "Soooo....where's Misato?"
"Um...she's still asleep. She doesn't have to work today..."
"Hmm...Lucky her. At least someone is getting the weekend off!"
"Yeah...I guess. It's not like she does anything with it anyway. She'll probably sleep half the time and get drunk the other half." Shinji finished the last of his sausages and began clearing the table. "Um...Asuka, your still going shopping with Kaji right?"
"Yup...why?"
"Well, are you going to be home for dinner?"
"Probably..."
"Ok...because...um...yesterday...er...Misato..er..um..she told me to...um..buy some meat f..for dinner...so..."
"Mmm Hmmm...yeah..." Asuka had learnt very early on that when Shinji began to stutter, it was best to sit it out and not press the matter or else it got worse, hence she found her train of thought drifting off as Shinji struggled with his words.
"...so..um..I bought...s.s-some..st..st-steaks..."
All of a sudden, Asuka's eyes lit up. "WHAT?!? STEAKS??!!" A little taken back, Shinji nodded. "WOOOHOOO! I just know today's gonna be a good day. First, a good breakfast, then I get to go out with Kaji and now a steak dinner! You may have outdone yourself this time Shinji!"
Shinji blushed. "Um..er Thankyou."
"Hey, don't go congratulating yourself just yet, let's see how well you do dinner first. Now, come on, let's get going."
"But...I still have to do the dishes..."
"Leave it! Let Misato do them, I don't want to get detention for being late!"
Shinji was about to protest that they had plenty of time, but one look by Asuka silenced him. "Oh ok..."
"That's a good boy!" Asuka petted his head as a person might do to their pet before skipping off to her room to grab her bag.
Shinji smiled before making his way to his own room. Somehow he felt that the day was going to be a good one too.
Four hours later....
"I can't believe I just wasted three hours of my life listening to him!" Touji lamented as the three stooges emerged, bleary eyed, from the classroom. Saturday's lesson had just finished and everyone was eager to go home, those that were awake, that is.
"Tell me about it! If I'd had known Second Impact was today's topic I would have skipped class." Kensuke furiously rubbed his tired eyes back to life. "Hey Shinji, wanna come with us to the mall? I here the arcade just got the latest version of Tekken VS Virtua Fighter Pro!"
Not really feeling up to the task of battling it out in an overcrowded arcade for the next few hours, Shinji kindly declined. "No thanks guys, I think I'll check up on Misato, hopefully the place isn't too messy."
Touji smirked. "You know, Misato can mess up my place any day." He nudged Kensuke in the ribs. "You know what I mean." Shinji hung his head and sighed.
"Well, maybe we can do something tomorrow...I'll give you a call later tonight OK?" Shouted Kensuke as he and Touji began walking in the opposite direction.
"OK!! Bye." Shinji waved as he watched them cross the street before heading off home. He was halfway down the street when he heard his name being called.
"Hey! What's the big idea not waiting for me?" Asuka huffed.
"Sorry...I thought you were going to meet Kaji..."
"Baka! Not in my school uniform! I've gotta go home and change first! Geez, do you really think I would go on a date in this...this hideous outfit? You and Wondergirl maybe, but this girls got fashion sense...."
Shinji sighed when he realised what was happening. Why is it that no matter where I go, all I do is listen to people drone on and on for hours on end?! He asked himself. If it is sensei yapping about Second Impact, it's Touji and Kensuke talking about Misato or Asuka about Kaji!
"Oh well, at least I still have my SDAT!" he whispered as he pressed the play button.
"OI!" Asuka violently yanked the headphones out of his ears. "Are you LISTENING?!?!"
Rather annoyed, Shinji rubbed his sore ears. "Umm...actually...um..er..of course I was!"
"Then what was I saying?!?!"
Shinji began panicking as he saw Asuka clench her fists in rage. All of a sudden he realised that their building was only a few blocks away.
"Um...you were saying...run?" Realising Asuka wasn't looking at him, he made a break for it.
"No I wasn't!!!" Turning back around, she almost blew her top when she saw Shinji a few metres away, running for his life. "AHHHHH STUPID THIRD CHILD!! I"LL KILL YOU!!!" she yelled as she gave chase.
"Ack!!!" Misato woke up to another hung over day. Looking at her clock, she realised that the children would be home soon, and so dragged her ass out of bed. Better to not let them think I'm lazy, she thought.
Moments later she was watching TV while enjoying a beer, not bothering to change out of her pyjamas. Crushing the now empty can, she threw it into a corner of the room and retrieved another one from the six pack at her feet. She was in the process of emptying that can when the front door slid open and a blur resembling Shinji came running into the house. It shouted a greeting before rushing off into Shinji's room and locking the door.
It was only then that she heard the obscene language that was emanating from the elevator well.
"Oh...crap!" She sighed as she switched on to Asuka damage control mode.
"Where is HE?!?"
"Asuka...calm down." Misato said calmly as she stood in front of his door, arms outstretched, making sure there was always two metres, separating herself from the fiery red head.
"Get out of my way Misato or else..." She said through clenched teeth.
"No..not till you calm down!"
"That's it!" Asuka tried to work her way around Misato to get to Shinji's room. After a quick struggle she wormed her way around Misato's arms and was just about to break through the flimsy door when something Misato shouted caught her attention.
"Asuka! Stop this now or else you'll be late for your date with Kaji!"
Asuka checked her watch, calculated the time it took to get to the mall and then gave the door one last punch out of frustration. "We'll finish this later THIRD CHILD!!!" With that, she stormed into her own room.
Several mintues later, Asuka, clad in a tight fitting top and shorts, left the apartment in a huff. Breathing a sigh of relief, Misato made her way to Shinji's door.
"She's gone. You can come out now."
Some shuffling noises were made before the door opened to reveal Shinji, still in his uniform. He slowly raised his head and returned Misato's gaze wordlessly.
"So..." Misato spoke up, waiting for an explanation.
"So." he replied
"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" Misato asked in quizzical tone
"You really wanna know?"
"Well, it might be useful when the police try to pin a motive on Asuka for your homicide!"
"HAHA Very funny, Misato." Shinji replied dryly, not sharing Misato's sense of humour.
"Well, I try. Now do tell!"
"It's nothing, really!"
"I'll be the judge of that! So spill!"
Sighing, Shinji began. "Well we were walking home and Asuka was droning on about something or other...so I began listening to my SDAT."
"And?"
"...And then all of a sudden she pulled my headphones off and started yelling about whether I was listening to her or not..."
"So...?"
"S I said I was and then she got mad and asked me what she was saying and I freaked out and I kind of....ran home..."
At that point Misato broke out in a fit of laughter. "Is that ALL?!? I thought you did something real bad like accidentally see her naked or something. Geez running away...how many times have I told you you mustn't run away?!?"
"I'm serious Misato! She looked like she could have killed me on the spot, so I panicked."
"Well why didn't you just say you weren't listening to her and save all the trouble?"
"Because she would have got mad at me for ignoring her!" Shinji stated the obvious.
"Well look at her now! Not only is she mad at you, she's ready to commit murder in the first!"
"Shinji smacked his head quite violently. "I'm an idiot!"
"You know Shinji, your a boy, so start acting like one. Stop letting Asuka boss you around!"
"It's not that easy, Misato."
"Geez do you have any balls at all?" Misato said in a huff.
"Hey! I resent that! I don't let her push me around...it's just...oh I don't know!"
"Yeah...who knows about that girl...so what are your plans for the rest of today?"
Shinji shrugged. "Nothing really, thought I might do some cleaning."
"Boring! Come on, you can keep me company while I watch TV."
Shinji sighed as he prepared to waste another day of his life.
"Where is she? She's late."
Kaji had been waiting for a good half hour now. As he checked his watch again for the umpteenth time, he thought about how he was going to break the news to Asuka. Being transferred to NERV had had it's advantages, but he wasn't able to exercise his curiosity as much as he would have liked, no thanks to a particular pilot who insisted she follow his every move. What began as some harmless fun, was now out of control. Not only was Asuka's constant infatuation with him stopping him from finding out NERV's deepest, darkest secrets, but it was also encroaching on his advances towards Misato. It's got to end now, he thought. Poor girl, she really needs to find a guy.
His thought's then drifted to how he was going to break it to her. Better to do it while they were at the mall. She was less likely to cause a scene when in public. After deciding that he would wait until she had done her shopping before telling her, Kaji felt a lot easier. He didn't want to do it to her, after all her cared for her like a little sister, but there was no other way.
"I wonder what she's going to say?" He said to no one in particular. Needless to say, he was quite alarmed when he got a response.
"Yes."
"Waaaaahhhhh! Asuka! Don't do that!" Calming himself down, he remembered what she had said. "Yes?"
"Well, you were going to ask me to marry you right?" Before he could respond, she spoke up. "The answers yes!"
"Is that all you think about? Me asking you to marry you."
"Well it's the truth isn't it?"
"There's just no getting past you is there?" Somehow Kaji felt that telling her was going to be harder than he had thought.
Shinji was in pain. He had just spent the last hour watching probably the worst show on earth. What he couldn't understand was why someone would be stupid enough to volunteer to appear on TV only to be placed in embarrassing and demeaning situations by a middle aged, overweight, has been from twenty years back. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Misato seemed to be having the time of her life.
"OH my god! This is so funny! And I thought nothing could beat yesterdays episode, 'Mom, Dad, I'm getting married, but she's a he...'"
As the credits rolled, Misato switched the TV off and wiped a tear from her eye. "Now wasn't that fun!" Shinji sweatdropped.
"What? You no like?"
"Bad!" was all Shinji could whisper.
"Well that's daytime television for you! Besides you should be out playing with your friends, not moping around at home."
"Didn't feel like doing anything today, and besides I thought you would have appreciated me cleaning this place up."
"Not if it means that you have to forgo having a life!" Misato sighed at his blank expression. "After all, Asuka and I can look after ourselves. We don't need you being our servant or anything."
"Sure Misato." he replied rather skeptically.
"Don't get smart with me!" she warned. "Well, what do you want to do then? More TV?"
"No! Please, no more!" Shinji begged.
"Oh all right..." Misato pouted. "How about...you tell me about school then? Anything interesting happen that I should know about?" She gave him a little wink.
Shinji shook his head. He didn't like where Misato was heading.
"Hey! Isn't this the swimsuit section?" Kaji didn't like where this was heading.
"That's right!" Asuka cried out as she disappeared behind a rack of costumes. "What do you think about this one?"
Kaji let out a little gasp at the sight of the swimsuit in question. "Isn't that just a little too revealing for a girl your age?"
"Awww your no fun! This is what all the girls are wearing now!" Somehow Kaji didn't fully believe her words. "So? Do you like it?"
"I guess so.." he said half heartedly, regretting ever agreeing to go shopping with her.
"Great! Well I'll go try it on, so don't peek!"
Kaji shook his head, wishing he was somewhere else, anywhere else. The shocked stares of the other female shoppers weren't easing his nerves either.
Shinji wished he were somewhere else right now. His conversation with Misato had started off well enough, but now it felt like it had turned into an interrogation. As he faltered under Misato's stare, he felt his cheeks burn up. "Tell ME!!"
"NO!"
"Shinji! It's not like I'm telling you to name names. I mean a simple yes or no will do!"
Realising that Misato wasn't going to stop badgering him till he gave her an answer, he relented. "Fine. Yes, yes I do. Happy now?"
"Haha! Shinji's got a crush, Shinji's got a crush..." Misato excitedly shouted as she jumped and clapped her hands. One glare from Shinji quickly silenced her though. "Sorry. So who's the lucky girl?"
"Misato? You said you weren't going to ask!"
"No, I said I didn't ask you for a name, now I am!" she corrected him.
Shinji huffed and crossed his arms in a show of defiance. "Well too bad! I'm not telling, no matter what!"
"OK."
"OK?" Shinji was confused. Normally Misato would have put up more of a fight.
"Yeah. if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to. I'll respect your privacy." Misato responded calmly as she turned the TV on again.
"Uh...Thankyou." Shinji didn't know what else to say so he just made his way to his room. He was about to step through the doorway when Misato spoke up again.
"However..." Shinji frowned. He should have known Misato was up to something. "...if you don't tell me then how am I supposed to help you get the object of your affection?"
"I don't care!" Shinji slammed the door to his room, or what passed for a slam as he didn't want to damage the door, rather annoyed at Misato's constant teasing and tormenting.
"We'll see..." she said to herself as she settled in for some more talk show television.
Kaji took a large swig of his beer. He would have preferred something much stronger to drink, but the sun was still high in the sky and they were still in a shopping mall and not a bar. At the moment they were seated in an outdoor food court, chatting over some refreshments. Asuka had just spent the last hour or so shopping for one very revealing swimsuit and some other accessories while Kaji had spent the whole time trying to avoid being arrested for charges of peodophilia. Now that the shopping was out of the way, Kaji was preparing to let her down, gently if possible. Just keep her talking for a bit longer, his brain told him.
"So, where are you going?"
"O-KI-NA-WA! We're even going scuba diving!"
"Why, it's been years since I've been diving..."
"Hey, where did you go for your school trip?"
"I never had one..."
"How come?"
"Oh just a little thing called the Second Impact." Asuka looked a little confused. "That's right, I was your age when Second Impact occurred, which means I'm twice your age."
"Really? You don't look like your thirty."
"Yeah, well I'm young at heart. In fact Misato is convinced I'm still eighteen years old." Asuka began to chuckle but stopped when she noticed Kaji had his serious face on. "That brings up something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. Now hear me out Asuka...."
"Wow, you must really like her, it only took you twenty minutes to think over it!"
"I'm not going to tell you! I just came out for a drink."
"Yeah, whatever."
Shinji made his way to the fridge, and retrieved said drink, however he didn't return to him room immediately. "Misato..."
"Ha I knew it! Tell me!"
"No! That's not what I was going to say! I was just wondering if you think Asuka's going to hurt me when she gets back."
Misato looked dejected. She was certain Shinji was going to divulge his secret. Aparently she was wrong. "Well, uh..that depends how her date with Kaji goes, why?"
"Oh well, I was thinking about what you said earlier and I realised I might want to live a little longer, that's all." Both enjoyed a laugh.
"Shinji." Misato said in a serious tone. "About that other thing I said earlier, I was being serious, if you need any help just ask ok?" Shinji nodded, a little embarrassed. "Now I know sometimes I joke around, but if you ever want to talk seriously just tell me."
"Ok Misato."
"So, are you going to tell me now?"
"No."
"Damn! Oh well, anytime your ready. I'll be waiting."
"Thanks Misato, but why the interest? My life can't be that interesting can it?"
"Hey! I'm just doing what anybody else would do. And besides, if there's anybody who needs help, it's you!"
Shinji shot daggers at her. "Kidding, geez."
"Maybe it's to make up for your non existent love life?" Shinji offered, before being scared out of his skin by the look Misato gave him.
"Seriously though, I know your going through a hard time what with EVA, NERV, your father, puberty and all so I'm just trying to make life a little easier, that's all."
"Thanks anyway, I'll remember your offer next time I have a question."
"No probs Shinji, now get outta here you little rascal!"
"What I'm saying is that I'm a full time employee of NERV now and not your guardian anymore, so I just don't have the time to be playing games and chauffeuring you around anymore." He didn't want to sound so cold hearted, but he knew that he had to be blunt or else Asuka wouldn't get the message.
I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, Asuka kept telling herself. regaining her composure, she spoke up. "I see. So your saying you don't want to be my friend anymore. That you only cared for me because you were my guardian and it was your job."
"No Asuka! That's not what I meant. I still want to be your friend! No it's not my job anymore, but I still care for you like a little sister, it's just that I'm not available for you 24 hours a day anymore. That's Misato's job now. All I'm saying is that you can't call me at work all the time, and I'm not going to be available to go out on any dates with you anymore. And there's also someone else...."
"Misato."
"Well...yes."
"I understand."
Kaji let out a sigh of relief as he realised his plan had worked. "Come on, I'll give you a lift home." He went to take her hand when she pulled it away from him.
"Don't touch me, I can make my own way home. Good-bye Kaji." Asuka picked up her bags and walked away, willing herself not to cry in front of him.
Kaji sat at the table, fingers drumming on his glass. He knew he had done the right thing, however he didn't feel right inside. Maybe it was because he knew he had just broken the heart of someone he cared about. "I just hope she can find someone who can show her real love..."
Misato sat at the table with her beer, patiently waiting for Asuka to come home. Shinji was seated next to her, sipping a cup of tea. She had realised that she still needed to tell Asuka that she couldn't go to Okinawa, and so was going to get it over and done with the minute Asuka stepped through the door.
Her reverie was broken by the beep of the elevator, indicating that the lift was on their floor. That was followed by another beep indicating the front door was unlocking. After the door opened Asuka stepped through, her clothes slightly ruffled, but looking normal as usual, except for her eyes. If one were to look they would have noticed that apart from seeming completely lifeless, they were about to start erupting tears.
Without even looking at the girl, Misato took a deep breath and began.
"Asuka. I have something to tell you. It involves your school trip to Okinawa. Basically your not allowed to go. Now before you start shouting, the reason why is because your EVA pilot's and thus your on permanent standby duty in the event that an angel attacks the city. Any questions?" It was only then that Misato looked at Asuka and realised something was amiss.
Taking the information in and digesting it, all Asuka's brain told her was that Misato had once again found a way to make her life miserable. Not being able to control her anger anymore, she took it out on her first target. "I HATE YOU, YOU, YOU BITCH!!!"
"WH...WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?"
"YOU HEARD ME! AWWW DID I UPSET YOU?!?! WHY DON'T YOU GO FIND KAJI AND FUCK HIM? IT'LL MAKE YOU FEEL A WHOLE LOT BETTER YOU SLUT!!!!" With that Asuka stormed off to her room, barely able to hold back the tears.
Shinji simply sat at the table, wide eyed as Misato cradled her head in her hands. "If I wasn't legally responsible for her well being...oooohhhhhhhhh" she mumbled before she retrieving as much beer as she could carry and stormed off into her own room.
After a few more moments, Shinji got up himself. "Oh well, might as well clean the house now."
Cleaning the apartment proved to be a simple enough task, partly because there was only the laundry, kitchen and living rooms to clean and partly because Shinji always kept them relatively clean to begin with, which is why Shinji found himself vacuuming the carpet a second time that evening. Although the carpet didn't need a second vacuuming, he felt the need to keep himself occupied until it was time to make dinner. As he thought about dinner, he remembered how he had wanted to impress Asuka by cooking some steaks. Fat chance now. Not only was she in a bad mood, she had also managed to piss Misato off, more so than usual. Trying to salvage the rest of the day, Shinji put all his effort into the one thing he was good at, cooking.
An hour later, a worn out Shinji fell into his seat at the table. The last hour or so had been spent slaving in the kitchen preparing a feast fit for a king. The steaks were cooked evenly all the way through, the sauce was nice and hot, the salad crisp and fresh. Now all that was left was for it to be eaten.
"Asuka, Misato. Dinners ready!" He stated from the kitchen, not knowing if it was appropriate, but risking it as opposed to knocking on their doors.
After waiting several minutes, he realised they weren't going to join him and so served himself and began eating, saddened at the fact that all his efforts had amounted to nought.
The more she thought about it, the more she cried. Eventually, when her eyes hurt too much, she stopped crying. Although they had argued before, Asuka knew that this time she had stepped over the line. This time she was in the wrong. Realising what needed to be done, she set about figuring out how to word her apology. After a few minutes, she relaxed and prepared herself to wait out the remaining few hours till Misato was drunk before showing herself and making her apology.
After her stomach grumbled for the hundredth time that hour, Asuka decided to come out of exile, the lure of red meat being too tempting. After hearing Shinji announce that dinner was ready, she spent a couple of minutes tidying up her appearance and then hesitantly crept down the hallway towards the kitchen. Upon seeing that Shinji was eating dinner alone, she strode out of the shadow of the hallway, her posture belying her uneasy feeling.
Taking a seat at the table opposite Shinji, she eyed him for a few moments as both teenagers racked their brains to think of something to say. Shinji noticed the swollen redness of Asuka's eyes and realised she had been crying, a lot. After swallowing his mouthful, he spoke up.
"Um...are you ok?"
"What does it look like? Not only did I call my commanding officer and guardian a bitch and a slut, but Kaji just dumped me, so to answer your question, NO I AM NOT OK!!"
"Sorry."
Asuka calmed herself down, before responding in a quieter voice. "Shinji, if all your going to say is sorry then I don't want to hear it ok?"
"But..I am sorry. I know how much Kaji meant to you so I'm sorry about what happened." Drawing a surprised expression from her, he continued. "Um, would you like dinner now?"
"No, I'm not hungry." Asuka answered, however her stomach chose to object to that answer.
"I'll take that as a yes." Shinji said as he got up to serve Asuka. He was just about to place her plate down on the table when Misato's door opened and Misato emerged, looking like she had just woken up.
"Shinji is din..." She stopped speaking when she saw Asuka seated at the table. "Don't worry, I'll serve myself." she told Shinji as she walked past Asuka, completely ignoring the young German.
After a moments hesitation, Asuka sucked in a big breath of air and cleared her throat. "Um...Misato."
"What?!" was the response through clenched teeth, Misato not even stopping to turn around and face her.
"Um...I want to say that...I'm sorry...about before...I didn't mean it..."
Misato put her plate down fast enough to cause a loud clang. Resting her palms on the counter, she used all her willpower to control herself. "Then why did you say it?"
"Well...it's just...that..." Asuka began sobbing, the truth being too much to handle. "...today...*sob*...at the...*sob*...mall...Kaji...told me not to call him anymore...he said that...*sob*...he didn't have any time for me and my games..." Asuka's small frame heaved up and down as she gasped for air between sobs.
Seeing her charge in so much anguish, Misato lost her anger and crouched down beside her and engulfed Asuka in a hug. "Hey, it's ok. Just let it all out..." Eventually, they withdrew from their embrace, Asuka wiping tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry Misato..."
"I know. Don't worry about it. Just don't do it again ok?"
Asuka smiled weakly. "Ok."
Filling her plate, Misato joined the other two at the table. "So, how are you holding up?"
"Alright I guess. At first it was like I wished it was all a bad dream and I would wake up, but I think I'll get over it." Asuka responded, looking a lot better than ten minutes ago.
"Well that's good. It just goes to show you how much of a jerk men really are!" Misato scoffed.
"Yeah tell me about it! I bet he did it in public just so that I wouldn't yell at him or anything!"
"That sounds just like him!"
"You know he even said that he was out for bigger game, like you." By now Asuka was back to her old fiery self.
"Why that little weasel! Wait till I see him tomorrow!"
All of a sudden Asuka lost the smile. "Misato, what do you do to make this feeling go away?"
"Well, chocolate works well. So does ice cream, but I find that the best way to see out a broken relationship is this!" She retrieved a bottle of clear liquid and placed it on the table. "Alcohol, or more precisely, sake."
"Sake?!?" Both pilots shouted in unison.
"That's right!" answered Misato as she placed a cup in front of Shinji and Asuka, and began opening the bottle.
"But..but...Misato...we..we're only four...OWWWW." Shinji was shut up by a loud smack to the back of his head.
"Shut up BAKA!"
"Now, now. Calm down the both of you. I'm only letting you two drink today because Asuka's having a shitty day. And...."
"And...?" Asuka was curious as to why Misato would be so liberal with her alcohol supply, as she normally kept it out of reach of her and Shinji.
"...Well, I've never been a firm believer in the 'wait till their eighteen' thing when it comes to drinking and other stuff because I think that if you wanted to there are plenty of ways of obtaining alcohol. Rather than tell you two that drinking is bad and you shouldn't do it till your eighteen, I prefer to educate you on the good and the bad of alcohol consumption."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Shinji inquired, curious as to how Misato could ever say drinking was bad.
"I plan on getting you two drunk tonight!"
"WHAT?!?!" Both children facevaulted.
"You heard me. I realised that sooner or later you two will be going to parties and socialising, and at those parties there's obviously going to be alcohol available. So rather than have you two getting drunk for the first time with 50 other hormone crazed teenagers, I'm going to allow you two the opportunity to drink and get drunk in the safety of this apartment. Hopefully you'll learn how to enjoy alcohol and not to abuse it. And also, I'll be able to keep an eye on both of you."
Asuka positively beamed. She had heard all the hype about drinking and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Shinji on the other hand hadn't given drinking much thought before. All he knew was that Misato got drunk regularly and he didn't want to do the same. In other words he wanted nothing to do with Misato's so called lesson.
"I want nothing to do with it!"
Misato gave him a reassuring smile. "That's ok Shinji. I thought you might not want to participate. Don't worry, it'll be just me and Asuka then."
"Hmph figures that baka Shinji would be too spineless to try something new. Are you too scared that you'll make a fool of yourself?"
Shinji froze for a second. Was he so boring and predictable? All of a sudden, he reached for the bottle, undid the foil wrapper and poured himself a cup, much to the surprise Misato and Asuka's surprise.
Before they could register Shinji's actions, he raised the cup to his lips and downed the it all in one gulp.
"Wow..." was all her got in response from his roommates.
"H.." Shinji tried to speak but found his whole throat burning as the sake made it's way towards his stomach. Not really minding the warm sensation, he cleared his throat and tried talking again. "Ha! Beat that!"
Misato was the first to snap out of her trance. "Um Shinji...how much did you just drink?" she inquired, wondering why there was so much sake missing from the bottle.
"About there." Shinji pointed to a spot on his cup.
"BAKA!" Misato slapped her forehead as she realised that Shinji had drank a whole cup of sake out of his regular, and much larger cup. "Shinji! You were supposed to use the shot glass I gave you!"
"So?"
"So? Shinji you just had the equivalent of three standard drinks!"
"Oops!" Shinji panicked as he felt his head spin a little. "What's going to happen then?"
"Well, hopefully you won't throw up. But seeing as this is your first time, that amount of sake is going to hit you all at once, so instead of slowly getting drunk, your probably going to feel dizzy, light-headed, and stumble around a bit while your body tries to absorb the alcohol."
"HA! Good one baka! Try not to throw up on the carpet!" Asuka teased.
"Oh Shut up!" retorted Shinji.
"What?! Why you..." Asuka was about to reach over and smack Shinji for his troubles, but was stopped by Asuka.
"Now Asuka, that's just part of the effects of alcohol. It lowers your inhibitions."
"Huh?"
"What it means is that Shinji isn't going to be so hesitant and shy now, he's going to come out of his shell so to speak. He's going to be saying and doing a lot of things he normally wouldn't be doing otherwise."
"Oh I see..." Both women turned to Shinji, who was staring off into space with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh boy! I think this is going to be a long night..." Misato poured Asuka a shot and then one for herself and prepared for another fun evening at the Katsuragi residence.
END OF CHAPTER 2
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Author's Notes:
Chapter 2 in your face! Sorry about the wait. I think I'm only a couple of days late. Not to worry, chapter 3 will be out in a couple of days to make up for this, and yes it will cover the rest of the evening.
If you want me to get off my lazy ass and write more chapters then just give me a buzz and tell me, I'm really lazy otherwise.
Other than that, not much to say. Don't complain about the scene with Kaji, it had to be done. Also thanks to all those who reviewed my first chapter, and a special note to Rhine, thanks for pointing out the Misato thing, I didn't even realise that! And don't worry, this won't turn into another 'Round Perdition', just have a little patience and all will be revealed.
Anyway, look out for chapter 3 and also another little trilogy I'm working on right now. It's called reunion and should be out as soon as I've retooled it. Till then, Bye.
Email: e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
TGC, Digital Underground, 2001.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
==========================================
Chapter 2: Broken Hearts are Hard to Mend
==========================================
Stepping out of her room, Asuka's senses immediately alerted her that breakfast was ready.
"Good Morning Asuka. Breakfast is ready, sausages and eggs!" greeted Shinji in an oversized apron.
Asuka giggled at the sight before her. "Morning Shinji, nice outfit!"
Shinji blushed. "Huh? Oh yeah...the apron. I didn't want to get oil on my uniform." He placed a plate in front of Asuka.
Asuka cut a piece of sausage, checked it was cooked all the way through, and then took a tentative bite. A smile crossed her face before she dug into breakfast. "Mmmm...good..." she managed to get out between mouthfuls.
Shinji found himself staring as a content Asuka hungrily devoured her food.
"Shinji!"
"Huh..yes?"
"Are you going to have some or are you going to stand there all day?"
"Hehe." Shinji laughed sheepishly before serving himself and joining Asuka at the table.
Being in a good mood that morning, Asuka took a seat back at the table after finishing her breakfast and waited for Shinji to finish so they could head off to school together. After a few seconds she decided to break the silence. "Soooo....where's Misato?"
"Um...she's still asleep. She doesn't have to work today..."
"Hmm...Lucky her. At least someone is getting the weekend off!"
"Yeah...I guess. It's not like she does anything with it anyway. She'll probably sleep half the time and get drunk the other half." Shinji finished the last of his sausages and began clearing the table. "Um...Asuka, your still going shopping with Kaji right?"
"Yup...why?"
"Well, are you going to be home for dinner?"
"Probably..."
"Ok...because...um...yesterday...er...Misato..er..um..she told me to...um..buy some meat f..for dinner...so..."
"Mmm Hmmm...yeah..." Asuka had learnt very early on that when Shinji began to stutter, it was best to sit it out and not press the matter or else it got worse, hence she found her train of thought drifting off as Shinji struggled with his words.
"...so..um..I bought...s.s-some..st..st-steaks..."
All of a sudden, Asuka's eyes lit up. "WHAT?!? STEAKS??!!" A little taken back, Shinji nodded. "WOOOHOOO! I just know today's gonna be a good day. First, a good breakfast, then I get to go out with Kaji and now a steak dinner! You may have outdone yourself this time Shinji!"
Shinji blushed. "Um..er Thankyou."
"Hey, don't go congratulating yourself just yet, let's see how well you do dinner first. Now, come on, let's get going."
"But...I still have to do the dishes..."
"Leave it! Let Misato do them, I don't want to get detention for being late!"
Shinji was about to protest that they had plenty of time, but one look by Asuka silenced him. "Oh ok..."
"That's a good boy!" Asuka petted his head as a person might do to their pet before skipping off to her room to grab her bag.
Shinji smiled before making his way to his own room. Somehow he felt that the day was going to be a good one too.
Four hours later....
"I can't believe I just wasted three hours of my life listening to him!" Touji lamented as the three stooges emerged, bleary eyed, from the classroom. Saturday's lesson had just finished and everyone was eager to go home, those that were awake, that is.
"Tell me about it! If I'd had known Second Impact was today's topic I would have skipped class." Kensuke furiously rubbed his tired eyes back to life. "Hey Shinji, wanna come with us to the mall? I here the arcade just got the latest version of Tekken VS Virtua Fighter Pro!"
Not really feeling up to the task of battling it out in an overcrowded arcade for the next few hours, Shinji kindly declined. "No thanks guys, I think I'll check up on Misato, hopefully the place isn't too messy."
Touji smirked. "You know, Misato can mess up my place any day." He nudged Kensuke in the ribs. "You know what I mean." Shinji hung his head and sighed.
"Well, maybe we can do something tomorrow...I'll give you a call later tonight OK?" Shouted Kensuke as he and Touji began walking in the opposite direction.
"OK!! Bye." Shinji waved as he watched them cross the street before heading off home. He was halfway down the street when he heard his name being called.
"Hey! What's the big idea not waiting for me?" Asuka huffed.
"Sorry...I thought you were going to meet Kaji..."
"Baka! Not in my school uniform! I've gotta go home and change first! Geez, do you really think I would go on a date in this...this hideous outfit? You and Wondergirl maybe, but this girls got fashion sense...."
Shinji sighed when he realised what was happening. Why is it that no matter where I go, all I do is listen to people drone on and on for hours on end?! He asked himself. If it is sensei yapping about Second Impact, it's Touji and Kensuke talking about Misato or Asuka about Kaji!
"Oh well, at least I still have my SDAT!" he whispered as he pressed the play button.
"OI!" Asuka violently yanked the headphones out of his ears. "Are you LISTENING?!?!"
Rather annoyed, Shinji rubbed his sore ears. "Umm...actually...um..er..of course I was!"
"Then what was I saying?!?!"
Shinji began panicking as he saw Asuka clench her fists in rage. All of a sudden he realised that their building was only a few blocks away.
"Um...you were saying...run?" Realising Asuka wasn't looking at him, he made a break for it.
"No I wasn't!!!" Turning back around, she almost blew her top when she saw Shinji a few metres away, running for his life. "AHHHHH STUPID THIRD CHILD!! I"LL KILL YOU!!!" she yelled as she gave chase.
"Ack!!!" Misato woke up to another hung over day. Looking at her clock, she realised that the children would be home soon, and so dragged her ass out of bed. Better to not let them think I'm lazy, she thought.
Moments later she was watching TV while enjoying a beer, not bothering to change out of her pyjamas. Crushing the now empty can, she threw it into a corner of the room and retrieved another one from the six pack at her feet. She was in the process of emptying that can when the front door slid open and a blur resembling Shinji came running into the house. It shouted a greeting before rushing off into Shinji's room and locking the door.
It was only then that she heard the obscene language that was emanating from the elevator well.
"Oh...crap!" She sighed as she switched on to Asuka damage control mode.
"Where is HE?!?"
"Asuka...calm down." Misato said calmly as she stood in front of his door, arms outstretched, making sure there was always two metres, separating herself from the fiery red head.
"Get out of my way Misato or else..." She said through clenched teeth.
"No..not till you calm down!"
"That's it!" Asuka tried to work her way around Misato to get to Shinji's room. After a quick struggle she wormed her way around Misato's arms and was just about to break through the flimsy door when something Misato shouted caught her attention.
"Asuka! Stop this now or else you'll be late for your date with Kaji!"
Asuka checked her watch, calculated the time it took to get to the mall and then gave the door one last punch out of frustration. "We'll finish this later THIRD CHILD!!!" With that, she stormed into her own room.
Several mintues later, Asuka, clad in a tight fitting top and shorts, left the apartment in a huff. Breathing a sigh of relief, Misato made her way to Shinji's door.
"She's gone. You can come out now."
Some shuffling noises were made before the door opened to reveal Shinji, still in his uniform. He slowly raised his head and returned Misato's gaze wordlessly.
"So..." Misato spoke up, waiting for an explanation.
"So." he replied
"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" Misato asked in quizzical tone
"You really wanna know?"
"Well, it might be useful when the police try to pin a motive on Asuka for your homicide!"
"HAHA Very funny, Misato." Shinji replied dryly, not sharing Misato's sense of humour.
"Well, I try. Now do tell!"
"It's nothing, really!"
"I'll be the judge of that! So spill!"
Sighing, Shinji began. "Well we were walking home and Asuka was droning on about something or other...so I began listening to my SDAT."
"And?"
"...And then all of a sudden she pulled my headphones off and started yelling about whether I was listening to her or not..."
"So...?"
"S I said I was and then she got mad and asked me what she was saying and I freaked out and I kind of....ran home..."
At that point Misato broke out in a fit of laughter. "Is that ALL?!? I thought you did something real bad like accidentally see her naked or something. Geez running away...how many times have I told you you mustn't run away?!?"
"I'm serious Misato! She looked like she could have killed me on the spot, so I panicked."
"Well why didn't you just say you weren't listening to her and save all the trouble?"
"Because she would have got mad at me for ignoring her!" Shinji stated the obvious.
"Well look at her now! Not only is she mad at you, she's ready to commit murder in the first!"
"Shinji smacked his head quite violently. "I'm an idiot!"
"You know Shinji, your a boy, so start acting like one. Stop letting Asuka boss you around!"
"It's not that easy, Misato."
"Geez do you have any balls at all?" Misato said in a huff.
"Hey! I resent that! I don't let her push me around...it's just...oh I don't know!"
"Yeah...who knows about that girl...so what are your plans for the rest of today?"
Shinji shrugged. "Nothing really, thought I might do some cleaning."
"Boring! Come on, you can keep me company while I watch TV."
Shinji sighed as he prepared to waste another day of his life.
"Where is she? She's late."
Kaji had been waiting for a good half hour now. As he checked his watch again for the umpteenth time, he thought about how he was going to break the news to Asuka. Being transferred to NERV had had it's advantages, but he wasn't able to exercise his curiosity as much as he would have liked, no thanks to a particular pilot who insisted she follow his every move. What began as some harmless fun, was now out of control. Not only was Asuka's constant infatuation with him stopping him from finding out NERV's deepest, darkest secrets, but it was also encroaching on his advances towards Misato. It's got to end now, he thought. Poor girl, she really needs to find a guy.
His thought's then drifted to how he was going to break it to her. Better to do it while they were at the mall. She was less likely to cause a scene when in public. After deciding that he would wait until she had done her shopping before telling her, Kaji felt a lot easier. He didn't want to do it to her, after all her cared for her like a little sister, but there was no other way.
"I wonder what she's going to say?" He said to no one in particular. Needless to say, he was quite alarmed when he got a response.
"Yes."
"Waaaaahhhhh! Asuka! Don't do that!" Calming himself down, he remembered what she had said. "Yes?"
"Well, you were going to ask me to marry you right?" Before he could respond, she spoke up. "The answers yes!"
"Is that all you think about? Me asking you to marry you."
"Well it's the truth isn't it?"
"There's just no getting past you is there?" Somehow Kaji felt that telling her was going to be harder than he had thought.
Shinji was in pain. He had just spent the last hour watching probably the worst show on earth. What he couldn't understand was why someone would be stupid enough to volunteer to appear on TV only to be placed in embarrassing and demeaning situations by a middle aged, overweight, has been from twenty years back. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Misato seemed to be having the time of her life.
"OH my god! This is so funny! And I thought nothing could beat yesterdays episode, 'Mom, Dad, I'm getting married, but she's a he...'"
As the credits rolled, Misato switched the TV off and wiped a tear from her eye. "Now wasn't that fun!" Shinji sweatdropped.
"What? You no like?"
"Bad!" was all Shinji could whisper.
"Well that's daytime television for you! Besides you should be out playing with your friends, not moping around at home."
"Didn't feel like doing anything today, and besides I thought you would have appreciated me cleaning this place up."
"Not if it means that you have to forgo having a life!" Misato sighed at his blank expression. "After all, Asuka and I can look after ourselves. We don't need you being our servant or anything."
"Sure Misato." he replied rather skeptically.
"Don't get smart with me!" she warned. "Well, what do you want to do then? More TV?"
"No! Please, no more!" Shinji begged.
"Oh all right..." Misato pouted. "How about...you tell me about school then? Anything interesting happen that I should know about?" She gave him a little wink.
Shinji shook his head. He didn't like where Misato was heading.
"Hey! Isn't this the swimsuit section?" Kaji didn't like where this was heading.
"That's right!" Asuka cried out as she disappeared behind a rack of costumes. "What do you think about this one?"
Kaji let out a little gasp at the sight of the swimsuit in question. "Isn't that just a little too revealing for a girl your age?"
"Awww your no fun! This is what all the girls are wearing now!" Somehow Kaji didn't fully believe her words. "So? Do you like it?"
"I guess so.." he said half heartedly, regretting ever agreeing to go shopping with her.
"Great! Well I'll go try it on, so don't peek!"
Kaji shook his head, wishing he was somewhere else, anywhere else. The shocked stares of the other female shoppers weren't easing his nerves either.
Shinji wished he were somewhere else right now. His conversation with Misato had started off well enough, but now it felt like it had turned into an interrogation. As he faltered under Misato's stare, he felt his cheeks burn up. "Tell ME!!"
"NO!"
"Shinji! It's not like I'm telling you to name names. I mean a simple yes or no will do!"
Realising that Misato wasn't going to stop badgering him till he gave her an answer, he relented. "Fine. Yes, yes I do. Happy now?"
"Haha! Shinji's got a crush, Shinji's got a crush..." Misato excitedly shouted as she jumped and clapped her hands. One glare from Shinji quickly silenced her though. "Sorry. So who's the lucky girl?"
"Misato? You said you weren't going to ask!"
"No, I said I didn't ask you for a name, now I am!" she corrected him.
Shinji huffed and crossed his arms in a show of defiance. "Well too bad! I'm not telling, no matter what!"
"OK."
"OK?" Shinji was confused. Normally Misato would have put up more of a fight.
"Yeah. if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to. I'll respect your privacy." Misato responded calmly as she turned the TV on again.
"Uh...Thankyou." Shinji didn't know what else to say so he just made his way to his room. He was about to step through the doorway when Misato spoke up again.
"However..." Shinji frowned. He should have known Misato was up to something. "...if you don't tell me then how am I supposed to help you get the object of your affection?"
"I don't care!" Shinji slammed the door to his room, or what passed for a slam as he didn't want to damage the door, rather annoyed at Misato's constant teasing and tormenting.
"We'll see..." she said to herself as she settled in for some more talk show television.
Kaji took a large swig of his beer. He would have preferred something much stronger to drink, but the sun was still high in the sky and they were still in a shopping mall and not a bar. At the moment they were seated in an outdoor food court, chatting over some refreshments. Asuka had just spent the last hour or so shopping for one very revealing swimsuit and some other accessories while Kaji had spent the whole time trying to avoid being arrested for charges of peodophilia. Now that the shopping was out of the way, Kaji was preparing to let her down, gently if possible. Just keep her talking for a bit longer, his brain told him.
"So, where are you going?"
"O-KI-NA-WA! We're even going scuba diving!"
"Why, it's been years since I've been diving..."
"Hey, where did you go for your school trip?"
"I never had one..."
"How come?"
"Oh just a little thing called the Second Impact." Asuka looked a little confused. "That's right, I was your age when Second Impact occurred, which means I'm twice your age."
"Really? You don't look like your thirty."
"Yeah, well I'm young at heart. In fact Misato is convinced I'm still eighteen years old." Asuka began to chuckle but stopped when she noticed Kaji had his serious face on. "That brings up something I've been meaning to tell you for a while. Now hear me out Asuka...."
"Wow, you must really like her, it only took you twenty minutes to think over it!"
"I'm not going to tell you! I just came out for a drink."
"Yeah, whatever."
Shinji made his way to the fridge, and retrieved said drink, however he didn't return to him room immediately. "Misato..."
"Ha I knew it! Tell me!"
"No! That's not what I was going to say! I was just wondering if you think Asuka's going to hurt me when she gets back."
Misato looked dejected. She was certain Shinji was going to divulge his secret. Aparently she was wrong. "Well, uh..that depends how her date with Kaji goes, why?"
"Oh well, I was thinking about what you said earlier and I realised I might want to live a little longer, that's all." Both enjoyed a laugh.
"Shinji." Misato said in a serious tone. "About that other thing I said earlier, I was being serious, if you need any help just ask ok?" Shinji nodded, a little embarrassed. "Now I know sometimes I joke around, but if you ever want to talk seriously just tell me."
"Ok Misato."
"So, are you going to tell me now?"
"No."
"Damn! Oh well, anytime your ready. I'll be waiting."
"Thanks Misato, but why the interest? My life can't be that interesting can it?"
"Hey! I'm just doing what anybody else would do. And besides, if there's anybody who needs help, it's you!"
Shinji shot daggers at her. "Kidding, geez."
"Maybe it's to make up for your non existent love life?" Shinji offered, before being scared out of his skin by the look Misato gave him.
"Seriously though, I know your going through a hard time what with EVA, NERV, your father, puberty and all so I'm just trying to make life a little easier, that's all."
"Thanks anyway, I'll remember your offer next time I have a question."
"No probs Shinji, now get outta here you little rascal!"
"What I'm saying is that I'm a full time employee of NERV now and not your guardian anymore, so I just don't have the time to be playing games and chauffeuring you around anymore." He didn't want to sound so cold hearted, but he knew that he had to be blunt or else Asuka wouldn't get the message.
I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, Asuka kept telling herself. regaining her composure, she spoke up. "I see. So your saying you don't want to be my friend anymore. That you only cared for me because you were my guardian and it was your job."
"No Asuka! That's not what I meant. I still want to be your friend! No it's not my job anymore, but I still care for you like a little sister, it's just that I'm not available for you 24 hours a day anymore. That's Misato's job now. All I'm saying is that you can't call me at work all the time, and I'm not going to be available to go out on any dates with you anymore. And there's also someone else...."
"Misato."
"Well...yes."
"I understand."
Kaji let out a sigh of relief as he realised his plan had worked. "Come on, I'll give you a lift home." He went to take her hand when she pulled it away from him.
"Don't touch me, I can make my own way home. Good-bye Kaji." Asuka picked up her bags and walked away, willing herself not to cry in front of him.
Kaji sat at the table, fingers drumming on his glass. He knew he had done the right thing, however he didn't feel right inside. Maybe it was because he knew he had just broken the heart of someone he cared about. "I just hope she can find someone who can show her real love..."
Misato sat at the table with her beer, patiently waiting for Asuka to come home. Shinji was seated next to her, sipping a cup of tea. She had realised that she still needed to tell Asuka that she couldn't go to Okinawa, and so was going to get it over and done with the minute Asuka stepped through the door.
Her reverie was broken by the beep of the elevator, indicating that the lift was on their floor. That was followed by another beep indicating the front door was unlocking. After the door opened Asuka stepped through, her clothes slightly ruffled, but looking normal as usual, except for her eyes. If one were to look they would have noticed that apart from seeming completely lifeless, they were about to start erupting tears.
Without even looking at the girl, Misato took a deep breath and began.
"Asuka. I have something to tell you. It involves your school trip to Okinawa. Basically your not allowed to go. Now before you start shouting, the reason why is because your EVA pilot's and thus your on permanent standby duty in the event that an angel attacks the city. Any questions?" It was only then that Misato looked at Asuka and realised something was amiss.
Taking the information in and digesting it, all Asuka's brain told her was that Misato had once again found a way to make her life miserable. Not being able to control her anger anymore, she took it out on her first target. "I HATE YOU, YOU, YOU BITCH!!!"
"WH...WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?"
"YOU HEARD ME! AWWW DID I UPSET YOU?!?! WHY DON'T YOU GO FIND KAJI AND FUCK HIM? IT'LL MAKE YOU FEEL A WHOLE LOT BETTER YOU SLUT!!!!" With that Asuka stormed off to her room, barely able to hold back the tears.
Shinji simply sat at the table, wide eyed as Misato cradled her head in her hands. "If I wasn't legally responsible for her well being...oooohhhhhhhhh" she mumbled before she retrieving as much beer as she could carry and stormed off into her own room.
After a few more moments, Shinji got up himself. "Oh well, might as well clean the house now."
Cleaning the apartment proved to be a simple enough task, partly because there was only the laundry, kitchen and living rooms to clean and partly because Shinji always kept them relatively clean to begin with, which is why Shinji found himself vacuuming the carpet a second time that evening. Although the carpet didn't need a second vacuuming, he felt the need to keep himself occupied until it was time to make dinner. As he thought about dinner, he remembered how he had wanted to impress Asuka by cooking some steaks. Fat chance now. Not only was she in a bad mood, she had also managed to piss Misato off, more so than usual. Trying to salvage the rest of the day, Shinji put all his effort into the one thing he was good at, cooking.
An hour later, a worn out Shinji fell into his seat at the table. The last hour or so had been spent slaving in the kitchen preparing a feast fit for a king. The steaks were cooked evenly all the way through, the sauce was nice and hot, the salad crisp and fresh. Now all that was left was for it to be eaten.
"Asuka, Misato. Dinners ready!" He stated from the kitchen, not knowing if it was appropriate, but risking it as opposed to knocking on their doors.
After waiting several minutes, he realised they weren't going to join him and so served himself and began eating, saddened at the fact that all his efforts had amounted to nought.
The more she thought about it, the more she cried. Eventually, when her eyes hurt too much, she stopped crying. Although they had argued before, Asuka knew that this time she had stepped over the line. This time she was in the wrong. Realising what needed to be done, she set about figuring out how to word her apology. After a few minutes, she relaxed and prepared herself to wait out the remaining few hours till Misato was drunk before showing herself and making her apology.
After her stomach grumbled for the hundredth time that hour, Asuka decided to come out of exile, the lure of red meat being too tempting. After hearing Shinji announce that dinner was ready, she spent a couple of minutes tidying up her appearance and then hesitantly crept down the hallway towards the kitchen. Upon seeing that Shinji was eating dinner alone, she strode out of the shadow of the hallway, her posture belying her uneasy feeling.
Taking a seat at the table opposite Shinji, she eyed him for a few moments as both teenagers racked their brains to think of something to say. Shinji noticed the swollen redness of Asuka's eyes and realised she had been crying, a lot. After swallowing his mouthful, he spoke up.
"Um...are you ok?"
"What does it look like? Not only did I call my commanding officer and guardian a bitch and a slut, but Kaji just dumped me, so to answer your question, NO I AM NOT OK!!"
"Sorry."
Asuka calmed herself down, before responding in a quieter voice. "Shinji, if all your going to say is sorry then I don't want to hear it ok?"
"But..I am sorry. I know how much Kaji meant to you so I'm sorry about what happened." Drawing a surprised expression from her, he continued. "Um, would you like dinner now?"
"No, I'm not hungry." Asuka answered, however her stomach chose to object to that answer.
"I'll take that as a yes." Shinji said as he got up to serve Asuka. He was just about to place her plate down on the table when Misato's door opened and Misato emerged, looking like she had just woken up.
"Shinji is din..." She stopped speaking when she saw Asuka seated at the table. "Don't worry, I'll serve myself." she told Shinji as she walked past Asuka, completely ignoring the young German.
After a moments hesitation, Asuka sucked in a big breath of air and cleared her throat. "Um...Misato."
"What?!" was the response through clenched teeth, Misato not even stopping to turn around and face her.
"Um...I want to say that...I'm sorry...about before...I didn't mean it..."
Misato put her plate down fast enough to cause a loud clang. Resting her palms on the counter, she used all her willpower to control herself. "Then why did you say it?"
"Well...it's just...that..." Asuka began sobbing, the truth being too much to handle. "...today...*sob*...at the...*sob*...mall...Kaji...told me not to call him anymore...he said that...*sob*...he didn't have any time for me and my games..." Asuka's small frame heaved up and down as she gasped for air between sobs.
Seeing her charge in so much anguish, Misato lost her anger and crouched down beside her and engulfed Asuka in a hug. "Hey, it's ok. Just let it all out..." Eventually, they withdrew from their embrace, Asuka wiping tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry Misato..."
"I know. Don't worry about it. Just don't do it again ok?"
Asuka smiled weakly. "Ok."
Filling her plate, Misato joined the other two at the table. "So, how are you holding up?"
"Alright I guess. At first it was like I wished it was all a bad dream and I would wake up, but I think I'll get over it." Asuka responded, looking a lot better than ten minutes ago.
"Well that's good. It just goes to show you how much of a jerk men really are!" Misato scoffed.
"Yeah tell me about it! I bet he did it in public just so that I wouldn't yell at him or anything!"
"That sounds just like him!"
"You know he even said that he was out for bigger game, like you." By now Asuka was back to her old fiery self.
"Why that little weasel! Wait till I see him tomorrow!"
All of a sudden Asuka lost the smile. "Misato, what do you do to make this feeling go away?"
"Well, chocolate works well. So does ice cream, but I find that the best way to see out a broken relationship is this!" She retrieved a bottle of clear liquid and placed it on the table. "Alcohol, or more precisely, sake."
"Sake?!?" Both pilots shouted in unison.
"That's right!" answered Misato as she placed a cup in front of Shinji and Asuka, and began opening the bottle.
"But..but...Misato...we..we're only four...OWWWW." Shinji was shut up by a loud smack to the back of his head.
"Shut up BAKA!"
"Now, now. Calm down the both of you. I'm only letting you two drink today because Asuka's having a shitty day. And...."
"And...?" Asuka was curious as to why Misato would be so liberal with her alcohol supply, as she normally kept it out of reach of her and Shinji.
"...Well, I've never been a firm believer in the 'wait till their eighteen' thing when it comes to drinking and other stuff because I think that if you wanted to there are plenty of ways of obtaining alcohol. Rather than tell you two that drinking is bad and you shouldn't do it till your eighteen, I prefer to educate you on the good and the bad of alcohol consumption."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Shinji inquired, curious as to how Misato could ever say drinking was bad.
"I plan on getting you two drunk tonight!"
"WHAT?!?!" Both children facevaulted.
"You heard me. I realised that sooner or later you two will be going to parties and socialising, and at those parties there's obviously going to be alcohol available. So rather than have you two getting drunk for the first time with 50 other hormone crazed teenagers, I'm going to allow you two the opportunity to drink and get drunk in the safety of this apartment. Hopefully you'll learn how to enjoy alcohol and not to abuse it. And also, I'll be able to keep an eye on both of you."
Asuka positively beamed. She had heard all the hype about drinking and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Shinji on the other hand hadn't given drinking much thought before. All he knew was that Misato got drunk regularly and he didn't want to do the same. In other words he wanted nothing to do with Misato's so called lesson.
"I want nothing to do with it!"
Misato gave him a reassuring smile. "That's ok Shinji. I thought you might not want to participate. Don't worry, it'll be just me and Asuka then."
"Hmph figures that baka Shinji would be too spineless to try something new. Are you too scared that you'll make a fool of yourself?"
Shinji froze for a second. Was he so boring and predictable? All of a sudden, he reached for the bottle, undid the foil wrapper and poured himself a cup, much to the surprise Misato and Asuka's surprise.
Before they could register Shinji's actions, he raised the cup to his lips and downed the it all in one gulp.
"Wow..." was all her got in response from his roommates.
"H.." Shinji tried to speak but found his whole throat burning as the sake made it's way towards his stomach. Not really minding the warm sensation, he cleared his throat and tried talking again. "Ha! Beat that!"
Misato was the first to snap out of her trance. "Um Shinji...how much did you just drink?" she inquired, wondering why there was so much sake missing from the bottle.
"About there." Shinji pointed to a spot on his cup.
"BAKA!" Misato slapped her forehead as she realised that Shinji had drank a whole cup of sake out of his regular, and much larger cup. "Shinji! You were supposed to use the shot glass I gave you!"
"So?"
"So? Shinji you just had the equivalent of three standard drinks!"
"Oops!" Shinji panicked as he felt his head spin a little. "What's going to happen then?"
"Well, hopefully you won't throw up. But seeing as this is your first time, that amount of sake is going to hit you all at once, so instead of slowly getting drunk, your probably going to feel dizzy, light-headed, and stumble around a bit while your body tries to absorb the alcohol."
"HA! Good one baka! Try not to throw up on the carpet!" Asuka teased.
"Oh Shut up!" retorted Shinji.
"What?! Why you..." Asuka was about to reach over and smack Shinji for his troubles, but was stopped by Asuka.
"Now Asuka, that's just part of the effects of alcohol. It lowers your inhibitions."
"Huh?"
"What it means is that Shinji isn't going to be so hesitant and shy now, he's going to come out of his shell so to speak. He's going to be saying and doing a lot of things he normally wouldn't be doing otherwise."
"Oh I see..." Both women turned to Shinji, who was staring off into space with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh boy! I think this is going to be a long night..." Misato poured Asuka a shot and then one for herself and prepared for another fun evening at the Katsuragi residence.
END OF CHAPTER 2
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Author's Notes:
Chapter 2 in your face! Sorry about the wait. I think I'm only a couple of days late. Not to worry, chapter 3 will be out in a couple of days to make up for this, and yes it will cover the rest of the evening.
If you want me to get off my lazy ass and write more chapters then just give me a buzz and tell me, I'm really lazy otherwise.
Other than that, not much to say. Don't complain about the scene with Kaji, it had to be done. Also thanks to all those who reviewed my first chapter, and a special note to Rhine, thanks for pointing out the Misato thing, I didn't even realise that! And don't worry, this won't turn into another 'Round Perdition', just have a little patience and all will be revealed.
Anyway, look out for chapter 3 and also another little trilogy I'm working on right now. It's called reunion and should be out as soon as I've retooled it. Till then, Bye.
Email: e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
TGC, Digital Underground, 2001.