The Digital Underground Presents
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
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Chapter 3: Who Are You?
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Asuka took another tiny sip of her sake and cringed at the bitterness of it. Not really feeling up to the task of emulating Shinji, she was still working on her second shot, while Misato had downed a few of her own, plus a couple of beers to boot. Shinji, on the other hand, was giving Misato a run for her money as he wandered drunkenly around the place with his own bottle of the wonderful clear liquid.
Shinji felt great. He couldn't remember a time that he had felt better. He felt free, in fact, he imagined that this was what it would feel to have no worries in the world, to not be burdened by hardships. No longer was he consciously watching what he said and did, instead he was acting on a whim, doing what came spontaneously. That's the reason why he found himself at the moment chasing Pen Pen, intent on giving him a well needed bath.
"Come on Pen Pen, you need a bath!" he shouted as he chased the hapless bird around the living room.
Pen Pen, not really understanding why his so called friend was chasing his, ranting and raving, ran for his life, flippers flailing as he looked to Misato for help.
"Poor Pen Pen, do you think we should help him?" asked Asuka as she eyed her half full glass.
"Nah! I'm having too much fun watching Shinji make a fool of himself!" laughed Misato. "And besides, him running around like that will probably sober him up a bit quicker."
Asuka didn't respond, instead, she stuck her pinkie in her glass and cautiously placed it on the tip of her tongue. As she suspected, it still tasted as bad as it did five minutes ago.
"No like?" Misato queried, seeing the redhead's reaction.
"I just can't get past the taste. It's so awful!" she replied, screwing up her face for maximum effect.
"Here, try this." Misato pushed her beer towards Asuka.
"Ewww...this tastes just as bad!" Asuka gave Misato back her beer as she swallowed, trying to rid her mouth of the bitter after taste. "How can you drink that?"
"It takes some getting used to."
"You don't say!" Asuka commented sarcastically. "Anyway if you don't mind, I think I'll be sticking to soda and juice for the time being."
"Good!" Misato exclaimed.
"Good? I thought you wanted to get me drunk?"
"Actually, I wanted to prove two points about drinking. It just seemed that getting you two drunk was the easiest way to prove it. But I think you've learnt your lesson."
"And what were they? The two points that is."
"Well first, I wanted to show you the effects of getting drunk, and secondly I wanted you to realise that you should always think before you drink."
"Well, I'm definitely going to think twice before someone offers me a drink again, but how have you shown me the effects of getting drunk?"
Misato laughed and pointed at Shinji, who was still chasing Pen Pen. "I think Shinji's given you a very graphic demonstration of the effects of alcohol on the human body."
"I guess your right. But what about Shinji? Knowing him, he's probably going to wake up tomorrow and think it was all a dream."
Misato held back her laugh. "Oh I don't think he's going to think it was all a dream. Judging by how much he's drunk, he's going to have one hell of a hangover."
At that precise moment, Pen Pen, still being chased by Shinji dodged the wall of the living room, which he was running towards. Shinji, in his intoxicated state, was a little too late in reacting and ended up plowing straight into the wall at full speed. Unfortunately, seeing as he was chasing Pen Pen, he had resorted to running with his back bent low in order for his hands to reach the small bird, which meant the top of his cranium took the full force of the impact.
"Owww...Not to mention one killer bruise..." cringed Asuka as the two females ran to the living room to assess the damage. As they rounded the lounge, they were met with Shinji sprawled across the floor, laughing and clutching his head as Pen Pen squatted and kicked his midsection while squawking a blue streak.
"Shinji, are you all right?" asked Misato as she raised him to a seating position and checked his head. Shinji responded by bursting into more laughter.
"I'll take that as a yes. Well, it doesn't look too bad. At least it isn't bleeding."
"Thank you DR Misato...can I have a lollie pop now?...hehehehe..."
"Okaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy...." echoed Asuka and Misato as they rolled their eyes in disgust.
Misato yawned as she checked the clock. "I think I'm going to call it a night. Sake seems to make me drowsy if I'm not in the mood for drinking. Can you take care of Shinji, Asuka?" Misato gave Asuka her pathetic help me look.
"Ohhh all right." sighed Asuka. "What do I have to do?"
Misato was about to issue some instructions when the phone decided to ring. Wondering who would call at that time of the night, she picked up the receiver.
"Moshimoshi? Katsuragi residence, Misato speaking."
"Um, hello Katsuragi-san, it's Kensuke Aida here. Sorry to bother you so late but can I speak to Shinji please?"
Misato eyed Shinji. "I'm sorry Kensuke, but Shinji's...well..indisposed at the moment, can I take a message?"
"Um...sure. Touji and I were thinking of taking him to the movies tomorrow seeing as he's not going to Okinawa and I was just calling to see if he could make it, that's all."
"That's very considerate of you, Mr. Aida. I'll make sure Shinji gets your message and that he calls you first thing tomorrow morning, OK?"
"Thank you, Katsuragi-san, and sorry for disturbing you."
"Please, Misato will do, and your welcome. Good night Kensuke."
"Good night Misato."
After hanging up the phone, Misato scribbled a note to Shinji and then stuck it on top of the toaster so he would see it in the morning.
"Anyway, as I was saying, just watch him until he sobers up so that he doesn't do anything stupid or hurt himself any more, OK Asuka?"
"All right." sighed Asuka. "By the way who was that?"
"Oh just Shinji's friend. Remind him when he's sober that there's a message for him on the toaster." Misato was about to retreat into her room when she remembered something. "Asuka, sorry I couldn't help more but are you going to be OK with Kaji and all?"
At the mentioning of his name, Asuka felt a sinking feeling in her heart, but kept a brave face. "Yeah, sure. Thanks anyway Misato." She put on a smile.
"OK but anytime you wanna talk, just ask."
"Will do. Oh...about this not going to Okinawa thing, you owe us big time!"
Misato didn't like the devious grin on Asuka's face and mentally kicked herself for agreeing. "Sure thing. Good night Asuka, and Shinji, behave."
"Good night Misato." Asuka waved to her and then turned to face Shinji. "Come on baka, let's get you sober so I can go to sleep."
"No!" Shinji replied defiantly.
"What? Why not?!?"
"Not until you stop calling me baka!"
Asuka had a laugh at Shinji's hurt expression and decided to humour him a bit. "OK I won't call you a baka.......you baka."
"Thanks Asu...hey!"
"All right! Come on, let's get you sober Shin-ji!" Asuka then helped him onto the sofa. "Now stay here while I get a drink to wash this bad taste out."
Shinji reached over to the coffee table and picked up his bottle of sake. "Here have some of this." Before Asuka could stop him, he took a swig and offered the bottle to her.
"How do you do that?" she asked, surprised that Shinji could handle the potent brew so easily.
He shrugged. "I dunno? I just do. Try it."
She waved her hand in front of her. "No thanks..."
"Awww is the Great Asuka afraid?"
Not particularly liking being teased by a drunk Shinji, she grabbed the bottle from him and took a decent sized drink. Expecting to be grossed out by the taste she was pleasantly surprised when instead she felt a warm sensation as the liquid passed through her, masking the bitterness.
"See...nice isn't it?"
"Wow." she replied, eyeing the bottle with a new found interest. Closing her eyes, she savored the warm sensation. She opened her eyes when she felt Shinji grab for the bottle. "I think you've had enough!"
Shinji sulked. "Awww your no fun!"
Asuka frowned. She was still having a hard time getting used to Shinji in his intoxicated state. "And since when did you become so fun loving, huh?" she retaliated.
"Since I got drunk! It feels great, it's so fun!" he said with a stupid grin on his face. "TRY!" Shinji pushed the bottom of the bottle towards Asuka's mouth.
"Not tonight Shinji."
"Why not?" Shinji feigned looking hurt. "Don't you want to get drunk with me?"
Asuka laughed. She was enjoying Shinji's newfound playfulness, however she just wasn't in the mood to have fun, not after what had happened earlier that day. "No...it's just...." Words failing her, she hunched her shoulders and let out a barely audible sigh.
"Kaji." Shinji stated more than questioned. Shinji turned his body around so that he was facing Asuka as they both sat on the sofa.
"You know what?" Shinji said, trying to lighten the mood. "You need another guy."
"Yeah right!" Asuka scoffed. "Like who? And don't you dare say one of those stooge friends of yours!" she warned. "Who am I kidding? Kaji was the only one for me..."
"Maybe, the person your looking for is right in front of you. You just haven't noticed him yet."
Asuka stared at Shinji blankly as his words sank in. Did he just imply? No it couldn't be! Shinji couldn't care for her, she treated him so...so bad.
She suddenly became aware of Shinji trying to get her attention.
"Asuka." Shinji waved his hand in front of her face until she acknowledged him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Asuka nodded. Subconsciously, her grip on the bottle tightened. She desperately wanted to share with someone her problem, but didn't know if she could bring herself to do it. Realising what she held in her hands, she took a long drink and steadied herself.
Judging by the way she was shaking, Shinji deduced that Asuka was having some trouble broaching the subject and so took the initiative.
"Why are you so hung up about him? I mean you weren't going out or anything."
"Your right. We weren't going out, but that doesn't mean I didn't care about him. You know, I spent the better part of five years chasing after him. Five years Shinji! That's a third of my life and for what? Nothing! I don't have anything to show for it, nor can I say I've accomplished anything! I'm such a baka! Why did I bother anyway?!? I should have just never bothered and saved myself the time and the embarrassment!!"
A moments silence ensued as Shinji digested her words, allowing her to composed herself and take another sip of sake.
"Did you have fun with him?"
"What?"
"Did you have fun with him?" repeated Shinji. "In all the years you chased after him, did you do any fun things with him?"
"Yeah."
"And you enjoyed yourself right?"
She nodded.
"And would you have had a chance to do those things if you hadn't known Kaji?"
"No..."
"Then, you know what I think?"
"What?"
"You knew that you and Kaji could never be, yet you still tried, and during that time you enjoyed yourself. So rather than sit there and feel sorry for yourself, cherish those memories and be thankful that you had the chance to experience it!"
Asuka blinked once. Asuka blinked twice. Asuka blinked again. After her tenth blink, Shinji became restless.
"What?"
"That was so....deep!" Shinji blushed.
"When did you become so deep?!"
"I can be deep sometimes!" Shinji stated.
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
"No you can't! Your spineless Shinji! You couldn't be deep if you were thrown into a bottomless pit!"
"I can so be...so...can...be...can...YES I CAN!!!!"
Asuka broke out in a fresh fit of laughter at Shinji's slurring speech, collapsing onto the sofa. Moments later Shinji joined in, not really finding his behaviour all that funny, but happy that Asuka was laughing.
"So...you feel any better now?"
"Yeah, a lot actually. Thanks for the advice Shinji."
He felt his ears heat up.
"You know, you should speak up more often. It suits you better."
"You think?" he asked hopefully.
"Yup! And to think all this time I thought you were a clueless baka."
"Gee, Thanks Asuka." Shinji said in his most humble voice. "Your not too bad yourself..."
Asuka brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god! Quick, get the camera, Shinji just gave me a compliment!!!"
Away in some secluded alleyway, deep within the heart of one of the wards of Tokyo-3, the sound of a can being kicked was heard as it echoed through the surrounding walls . Mentally kicking himself for not being more careful, the unidentified man, clad in heavy black trenchcoat, carried on his way until her came to a solitary door. For the casual observer, the door looked to be the same as countless others littered around the neighbouring alleys, but if one took the time, they would notice the lack of handles, the high tension bolts hinging it to heavy duty mounting brackets indicating a weight much more extreme than that of a wooden door, and the faint outline of a recessed panel beside it.
Walking up to the door, the man retrieved a remote from his pocket, and after a press of a button the recessed panel slid open to reveal a keypad. Entering the desired code resulted in the slow metallic swinging opening of the door. Waiting patiently until the door had opened far enough to walk through, he had one final look behind his shoulder to make certain he wasn't being followed and then disappeared into the shadows.
He stood in position, a mere couple of feet past the doorway, waiting for the door to automatically close in on itself. Once the door creaked shut and the last trace of night light was shut off, the hallway was bathed in bright halogen light. The hallway continued for ten metres before abruptly ending at a large shiny metallic door which wouldn't look out of place in a bank vault. Beside that door was another keypad with a slot. Inserting a card and entering a different code, the doors began to slide open. Once the doors were open, he stepped into a circular room of sorts and pressed a series of buttons on the touch pad. This resulted in the floor slowly sinking away from the door, until the light of the hallway was only a speck up above.
When the elevator finally came to a stop, another door, identical to the last opened and he walked into a small cubicle. Inside the cubicle was a chair, a table complete with microphone, touchpad and screen. On the left wall was a scrambler device for the encryption of messages and signals and on the right wall, a collection of radar modules designed to warn the occupant of any attempts to track or locate his whereabouts.
Getting comfortable, he activated the active warning devices before checking his watch and dialing up a number. Once the dial tone was received, the scrambler kicked in, decoding inbound messages and encrypting outbound ones. With all the active warning equipment up and running, he tested the mic before switching the screen on. The screen buzzed to life, showing a large circular room with a circular table set in a stone base. Set into the table, evenly spaced were 15 holographic projectors, one for each chair at the table. Not being a scheduled meeting, the chairs were all empty, in fact the whole room was unused except for the three other holographic projectors. Normally, an image of the respective owner would be shown, but on this occasion, the 'Sound Only' screen was chosen, the members choosing forgo the formality of it all. Instead, the only distinguishing features among the four images were the numbers below the "sound Only' logo. Those numbers being 01, 02, 03, and 04.
01: Ah, You decided to finally join us. Welcome number 3.
03: Hello all. Sorry for the delay, I had to make sure I wasn't followed.
01: Very well. What is the purpose of this meeting, 3?
03: Yes. Well, I called for this meeting because of a discovery I made last night. Now I assume your all aware of a man called Ryogi Kaji, correct?
02: Yes we are, continue.
03: Well it has come to my attention that NERV and Ikari himself may have underestimated the resourcefulness of this particular individual.
04: And how is that?
03: I'm uploading some information that was attained when I hacked into his personal database via a Magi terminal last night.
The man removed a disk from his pocket and loaded it into the reader before typing in the commands to send it to the other members logged on.
03: As you can see, nothing that we haven't seen before, but the question is...
01: How did HE get his hands on this?
"Oh...that was a killer..." Asuka burst out into more laughter. "Please...no more..." she blurted out as her midsection hitched up and down, trying to force air into her exhausted lungs.
"O-okay." Shinji got his breathing under control before sitting upright on the floor. Since their little talk earlier things had quickly become more jovial, especially in Asuka's case as she began making up for lost ground to Shinji by downing most of the remnants of the bottle. Had they not been so inebriated, the alcohol consumption would probably still be in progress. However, for the last ten minutes, grossly unfunny jokes had been shared by the duo, met with an unusual amount of side splitting laughter.
Finally able to keep a straight face, Asuka raised herself to a seating position as well and faced Shinji. Suppressing a giggle, she eyed him, waiting for a conversation starter to appear.
"So, um like what did you and Kaji get up to? Anything cheeky?" Shinji did his best Misato impression, even adding a wink.
"Not even close! In fact now that you mention it, the only things we ever did were so tame that I wouldn't be surprised if people thought he was my older brother!"
"Huh?"
"You know! Usual stuff like going to carnivals, the movies, shopping." Asuka said, counting off her fingers.
"Usual?"
"Yeah! Just normal stuff, that's all, although it was fun when I used to get Kaji to pick me up from my friends places. My friends always got jealous at me!" Asuka smirked.
"Wow, it must be fun to have someone like that to take you places..."
Asuka gave Shinji a 'What the HELL are you talking about?' look.
"You know, like an older brother."
"Oh THAT! Don't worry, it's over rated anyway." Asuka said dismissingly.
"But still...I never had a bigger brother or sister to do that with..."
"Duh silly, that's what your fathers for!" She sounded annoyed.
"Yeah...but..." Shinji sighed.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" She cut him off. "We are having fun tonight, not getting all down about you and your father, you hear me?!?"
Shinji nodded his acknowledgment.
"Good, now change the subject!"
"OK." He racked his brain for something fun to talk about. "How about...you tell me about Germany?"
"What?"
"You know, Germany. Deutschland."
"I know that! But why the interest?"
"Well, you always seem to enjoy talking about Germany, so now I'm listening." he stated.
"OK, where to start...."
He sat quietly as his colleagues discussed openly between themselves, answering any questions they had from time to time.
01: So, you found all this data on his database, right?
03: Yep. I acquired his password from a hacker contact of mine, and then I hacked in after hours when there was a skeleton shift working.
02: And you think he would be useful to our cause?
03: Think about it? The information he has can only be acquired by someone who has a vast contact base. And judging by the size of the file, he's been gathering this information for a while now. Not to mention that it takes some skill for him to do what he has done. He might be the perfect field operative we've been looking for. And to top it off, it seems he's doing this for personal gain, and not working for an organisation, which makes him easier to recruit.
04: Yes, it does seem that way, but can he be trusted?
01: Can anyone be trusted these days? That's the question. I have given your suggestion some thought, and if there are no objections I see no reason to not contact him.
02: I second that.
04: Me too.
01: Good, then it is agreed. As of tomorrow you will initiate contact with Ryogi Kaji and he will be given the opportunity to join our organisation. The usual precautions apply. Run a security check on him, and make sure no one comes in direct face to face contact with him until it is 110% certain he can be trusted.
03: Understood. Consider it done.
01: Very well. This meeting is over. The next time we meet is our weekly meeting. I hope to see you all there, Goodnight.
One by one, the holograms disappeared until 03 was still showing. Sighing, 03 signed off and pocketed his disk before shutting down all machinery. "Tomorrow you meet your destiny." he whispered before exiting the chamber, looking forward to getting home and taking a warm bath.
"What?" Asuka was becoming self conscious. Shinji had been staring at her with a serene smile ever since she had finished talking.
"Huh? Oh nothing. It's just, you seemed so happy when you were talking that's all."
"Well, you'd probably be the same if I asked you about Japan."
"I don't think so..." he whispered.
"Not again!" she exclaimed. "Come on, out with it! What's wrong now?"
"Nothing, it's just that I really don't know much about Japan myself. I mean before I came here the only place I've ever been was in Tokyo-2 with my uncle."
"So?!? Heaps of people are like that! What's to say that Tokyo-2 was boring?"
"I guess I would have been OK if my father was actually around to do things with me..."
Asuka was too shocked that Shinji was divulging this information to speak.
"I mean when you were telling me about all those things you did back in Germany with Kaji and your friends it got me thinking. You know, my father left me with my uncle when I was four. Just left. And my uncle didn't really care for me, only enough so that I stayed alive." He turned to see if Asuka was still listening to his sob story. "I never got to do those things you said. Never went to the movies, or the carnival, or even a friends house. Not to mention going on picnics or holidays or even just to the park to play. I never got to do any of those things and it just pisses me off when I think about it sometimes. How my father just abandoned me..."
Asuka was beyond shock now. She didn't know this about Shinji. When she had first came to Japan, she had gotten a hold of his personal file. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Father was head of NERV, Mother died in an accident, living with uncle in Tokyo-2, average grades, no disabilities, no mental disorders. Just an average kid. How wrong she was.
"I...I...you haven't had it easy have you?" she asked in a sincere tone.
Shinji sighed. "No..."
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was the fact that that evening she had connected with Shinji in a way she had not done since she could remember or maybe it was her inner conscience. Whatever it was, she found herself saying something she would normally have not.
"Well that's going to change! As of tomorrow, I, Asuka Langley Sorhyu, am going to personally make sure you, Shinji Ikari, have a fun and prosperous life in Tokyo-3!" She stated with conviction and determination.
"....say what....?"
"You heard me! I'm going to show you a good time!"
"Why?"
"Cos you need it! And we are friends aren't we?" He nodded.
"Good. Then it's settled. Tomorrow be prepared for some fun." She gave him a warm smile. "Now, time for bed third child. I have a feeling your gonna need the energy tomorrow."
Shinji couldn't stop smiling as he made his way to his room. Not only did he have a decent conversation with Asuka, but they had come to an understanding of such, hell, she even said they were friends! Not believing how well things had turned out that evening, he snuggled into his bed, content that for once he would get a good nights sleep. As for tomorrow, that was tomorrow, and as they say. "Tomorrow is another day."
END OF CHAPTER 3
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Author's Notes:
Well...what lies in store for young Shinji Ikari? Sorry to disappoint all of those who thought that they would get drunk and engage in wild acts of pleasure...Pleeease, get a hold of reality!
Did you like my little secret men's business part? And you wondered why the story's called Secrets and Lies....anyway, this marks the point in the story where other things come into play. Don't fret, I'm still going to pursue a Shinji+Asuka relationship, however I thought that 50 odd chapters of pure waff would be a tad too extreme.
Just to clear up a few things from last chapter...thanks to the reviews, I realised that there were a couple of grammatical errors in chapter 2. Not to worry, I've fixed them and the revised chapter 2 will be posted when this is, so if your reading this then ch2 will be up and running. Sorry bout the mix up, it won't happen again, that is until the next time I find myself writing a 30kb odd file in a day and forgetting to proof read it because it's four thirty in the morning on a school day and all I have on my mind is how crappy my radio reception in my room is....I mean sleep!
Please review, the longer the better. I would actually like people to give me their views on my writing and the story, not just a 'it's good' or 'it sucks'. Please tell me why it was good, or more importantly why it sucked so I can improve it. hey, it's the least you can do after I've slaved all week to bring you out another chapter. I await all reviews with much anticipation. until next week, ja ne. ;p
Email: e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
The Golden Child, Digital Underground, 2001
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
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Chapter 3: Who Are You?
========================
Asuka took another tiny sip of her sake and cringed at the bitterness of it. Not really feeling up to the task of emulating Shinji, she was still working on her second shot, while Misato had downed a few of her own, plus a couple of beers to boot. Shinji, on the other hand, was giving Misato a run for her money as he wandered drunkenly around the place with his own bottle of the wonderful clear liquid.
Shinji felt great. He couldn't remember a time that he had felt better. He felt free, in fact, he imagined that this was what it would feel to have no worries in the world, to not be burdened by hardships. No longer was he consciously watching what he said and did, instead he was acting on a whim, doing what came spontaneously. That's the reason why he found himself at the moment chasing Pen Pen, intent on giving him a well needed bath.
"Come on Pen Pen, you need a bath!" he shouted as he chased the hapless bird around the living room.
Pen Pen, not really understanding why his so called friend was chasing his, ranting and raving, ran for his life, flippers flailing as he looked to Misato for help.
"Poor Pen Pen, do you think we should help him?" asked Asuka as she eyed her half full glass.
"Nah! I'm having too much fun watching Shinji make a fool of himself!" laughed Misato. "And besides, him running around like that will probably sober him up a bit quicker."
Asuka didn't respond, instead, she stuck her pinkie in her glass and cautiously placed it on the tip of her tongue. As she suspected, it still tasted as bad as it did five minutes ago.
"No like?" Misato queried, seeing the redhead's reaction.
"I just can't get past the taste. It's so awful!" she replied, screwing up her face for maximum effect.
"Here, try this." Misato pushed her beer towards Asuka.
"Ewww...this tastes just as bad!" Asuka gave Misato back her beer as she swallowed, trying to rid her mouth of the bitter after taste. "How can you drink that?"
"It takes some getting used to."
"You don't say!" Asuka commented sarcastically. "Anyway if you don't mind, I think I'll be sticking to soda and juice for the time being."
"Good!" Misato exclaimed.
"Good? I thought you wanted to get me drunk?"
"Actually, I wanted to prove two points about drinking. It just seemed that getting you two drunk was the easiest way to prove it. But I think you've learnt your lesson."
"And what were they? The two points that is."
"Well first, I wanted to show you the effects of getting drunk, and secondly I wanted you to realise that you should always think before you drink."
"Well, I'm definitely going to think twice before someone offers me a drink again, but how have you shown me the effects of getting drunk?"
Misato laughed and pointed at Shinji, who was still chasing Pen Pen. "I think Shinji's given you a very graphic demonstration of the effects of alcohol on the human body."
"I guess your right. But what about Shinji? Knowing him, he's probably going to wake up tomorrow and think it was all a dream."
Misato held back her laugh. "Oh I don't think he's going to think it was all a dream. Judging by how much he's drunk, he's going to have one hell of a hangover."
At that precise moment, Pen Pen, still being chased by Shinji dodged the wall of the living room, which he was running towards. Shinji, in his intoxicated state, was a little too late in reacting and ended up plowing straight into the wall at full speed. Unfortunately, seeing as he was chasing Pen Pen, he had resorted to running with his back bent low in order for his hands to reach the small bird, which meant the top of his cranium took the full force of the impact.
"Owww...Not to mention one killer bruise..." cringed Asuka as the two females ran to the living room to assess the damage. As they rounded the lounge, they were met with Shinji sprawled across the floor, laughing and clutching his head as Pen Pen squatted and kicked his midsection while squawking a blue streak.
"Shinji, are you all right?" asked Misato as she raised him to a seating position and checked his head. Shinji responded by bursting into more laughter.
"I'll take that as a yes. Well, it doesn't look too bad. At least it isn't bleeding."
"Thank you DR Misato...can I have a lollie pop now?...hehehehe..."
"Okaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy...." echoed Asuka and Misato as they rolled their eyes in disgust.
Misato yawned as she checked the clock. "I think I'm going to call it a night. Sake seems to make me drowsy if I'm not in the mood for drinking. Can you take care of Shinji, Asuka?" Misato gave Asuka her pathetic help me look.
"Ohhh all right." sighed Asuka. "What do I have to do?"
Misato was about to issue some instructions when the phone decided to ring. Wondering who would call at that time of the night, she picked up the receiver.
"Moshimoshi? Katsuragi residence, Misato speaking."
"Um, hello Katsuragi-san, it's Kensuke Aida here. Sorry to bother you so late but can I speak to Shinji please?"
Misato eyed Shinji. "I'm sorry Kensuke, but Shinji's...well..indisposed at the moment, can I take a message?"
"Um...sure. Touji and I were thinking of taking him to the movies tomorrow seeing as he's not going to Okinawa and I was just calling to see if he could make it, that's all."
"That's very considerate of you, Mr. Aida. I'll make sure Shinji gets your message and that he calls you first thing tomorrow morning, OK?"
"Thank you, Katsuragi-san, and sorry for disturbing you."
"Please, Misato will do, and your welcome. Good night Kensuke."
"Good night Misato."
After hanging up the phone, Misato scribbled a note to Shinji and then stuck it on top of the toaster so he would see it in the morning.
"Anyway, as I was saying, just watch him until he sobers up so that he doesn't do anything stupid or hurt himself any more, OK Asuka?"
"All right." sighed Asuka. "By the way who was that?"
"Oh just Shinji's friend. Remind him when he's sober that there's a message for him on the toaster." Misato was about to retreat into her room when she remembered something. "Asuka, sorry I couldn't help more but are you going to be OK with Kaji and all?"
At the mentioning of his name, Asuka felt a sinking feeling in her heart, but kept a brave face. "Yeah, sure. Thanks anyway Misato." She put on a smile.
"OK but anytime you wanna talk, just ask."
"Will do. Oh...about this not going to Okinawa thing, you owe us big time!"
Misato didn't like the devious grin on Asuka's face and mentally kicked herself for agreeing. "Sure thing. Good night Asuka, and Shinji, behave."
"Good night Misato." Asuka waved to her and then turned to face Shinji. "Come on baka, let's get you sober so I can go to sleep."
"No!" Shinji replied defiantly.
"What? Why not?!?"
"Not until you stop calling me baka!"
Asuka had a laugh at Shinji's hurt expression and decided to humour him a bit. "OK I won't call you a baka.......you baka."
"Thanks Asu...hey!"
"All right! Come on, let's get you sober Shin-ji!" Asuka then helped him onto the sofa. "Now stay here while I get a drink to wash this bad taste out."
Shinji reached over to the coffee table and picked up his bottle of sake. "Here have some of this." Before Asuka could stop him, he took a swig and offered the bottle to her.
"How do you do that?" she asked, surprised that Shinji could handle the potent brew so easily.
He shrugged. "I dunno? I just do. Try it."
She waved her hand in front of her. "No thanks..."
"Awww is the Great Asuka afraid?"
Not particularly liking being teased by a drunk Shinji, she grabbed the bottle from him and took a decent sized drink. Expecting to be grossed out by the taste she was pleasantly surprised when instead she felt a warm sensation as the liquid passed through her, masking the bitterness.
"See...nice isn't it?"
"Wow." she replied, eyeing the bottle with a new found interest. Closing her eyes, she savored the warm sensation. She opened her eyes when she felt Shinji grab for the bottle. "I think you've had enough!"
Shinji sulked. "Awww your no fun!"
Asuka frowned. She was still having a hard time getting used to Shinji in his intoxicated state. "And since when did you become so fun loving, huh?" she retaliated.
"Since I got drunk! It feels great, it's so fun!" he said with a stupid grin on his face. "TRY!" Shinji pushed the bottom of the bottle towards Asuka's mouth.
"Not tonight Shinji."
"Why not?" Shinji feigned looking hurt. "Don't you want to get drunk with me?"
Asuka laughed. She was enjoying Shinji's newfound playfulness, however she just wasn't in the mood to have fun, not after what had happened earlier that day. "No...it's just...." Words failing her, she hunched her shoulders and let out a barely audible sigh.
"Kaji." Shinji stated more than questioned. Shinji turned his body around so that he was facing Asuka as they both sat on the sofa.
"You know what?" Shinji said, trying to lighten the mood. "You need another guy."
"Yeah right!" Asuka scoffed. "Like who? And don't you dare say one of those stooge friends of yours!" she warned. "Who am I kidding? Kaji was the only one for me..."
"Maybe, the person your looking for is right in front of you. You just haven't noticed him yet."
Asuka stared at Shinji blankly as his words sank in. Did he just imply? No it couldn't be! Shinji couldn't care for her, she treated him so...so bad.
She suddenly became aware of Shinji trying to get her attention.
"Asuka." Shinji waved his hand in front of her face until she acknowledged him. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Asuka nodded. Subconsciously, her grip on the bottle tightened. She desperately wanted to share with someone her problem, but didn't know if she could bring herself to do it. Realising what she held in her hands, she took a long drink and steadied herself.
Judging by the way she was shaking, Shinji deduced that Asuka was having some trouble broaching the subject and so took the initiative.
"Why are you so hung up about him? I mean you weren't going out or anything."
"Your right. We weren't going out, but that doesn't mean I didn't care about him. You know, I spent the better part of five years chasing after him. Five years Shinji! That's a third of my life and for what? Nothing! I don't have anything to show for it, nor can I say I've accomplished anything! I'm such a baka! Why did I bother anyway?!? I should have just never bothered and saved myself the time and the embarrassment!!"
A moments silence ensued as Shinji digested her words, allowing her to composed herself and take another sip of sake.
"Did you have fun with him?"
"What?"
"Did you have fun with him?" repeated Shinji. "In all the years you chased after him, did you do any fun things with him?"
"Yeah."
"And you enjoyed yourself right?"
She nodded.
"And would you have had a chance to do those things if you hadn't known Kaji?"
"No..."
"Then, you know what I think?"
"What?"
"You knew that you and Kaji could never be, yet you still tried, and during that time you enjoyed yourself. So rather than sit there and feel sorry for yourself, cherish those memories and be thankful that you had the chance to experience it!"
Asuka blinked once. Asuka blinked twice. Asuka blinked again. After her tenth blink, Shinji became restless.
"What?"
"That was so....deep!" Shinji blushed.
"When did you become so deep?!"
"I can be deep sometimes!" Shinji stated.
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
"No you can't! Your spineless Shinji! You couldn't be deep if you were thrown into a bottomless pit!"
"I can so be...so...can...be...can...YES I CAN!!!!"
Asuka broke out in a fresh fit of laughter at Shinji's slurring speech, collapsing onto the sofa. Moments later Shinji joined in, not really finding his behaviour all that funny, but happy that Asuka was laughing.
"So...you feel any better now?"
"Yeah, a lot actually. Thanks for the advice Shinji."
He felt his ears heat up.
"You know, you should speak up more often. It suits you better."
"You think?" he asked hopefully.
"Yup! And to think all this time I thought you were a clueless baka."
"Gee, Thanks Asuka." Shinji said in his most humble voice. "Your not too bad yourself..."
Asuka brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god! Quick, get the camera, Shinji just gave me a compliment!!!"
Away in some secluded alleyway, deep within the heart of one of the wards of Tokyo-3, the sound of a can being kicked was heard as it echoed through the surrounding walls . Mentally kicking himself for not being more careful, the unidentified man, clad in heavy black trenchcoat, carried on his way until her came to a solitary door. For the casual observer, the door looked to be the same as countless others littered around the neighbouring alleys, but if one took the time, they would notice the lack of handles, the high tension bolts hinging it to heavy duty mounting brackets indicating a weight much more extreme than that of a wooden door, and the faint outline of a recessed panel beside it.
Walking up to the door, the man retrieved a remote from his pocket, and after a press of a button the recessed panel slid open to reveal a keypad. Entering the desired code resulted in the slow metallic swinging opening of the door. Waiting patiently until the door had opened far enough to walk through, he had one final look behind his shoulder to make certain he wasn't being followed and then disappeared into the shadows.
He stood in position, a mere couple of feet past the doorway, waiting for the door to automatically close in on itself. Once the door creaked shut and the last trace of night light was shut off, the hallway was bathed in bright halogen light. The hallway continued for ten metres before abruptly ending at a large shiny metallic door which wouldn't look out of place in a bank vault. Beside that door was another keypad with a slot. Inserting a card and entering a different code, the doors began to slide open. Once the doors were open, he stepped into a circular room of sorts and pressed a series of buttons on the touch pad. This resulted in the floor slowly sinking away from the door, until the light of the hallway was only a speck up above.
When the elevator finally came to a stop, another door, identical to the last opened and he walked into a small cubicle. Inside the cubicle was a chair, a table complete with microphone, touchpad and screen. On the left wall was a scrambler device for the encryption of messages and signals and on the right wall, a collection of radar modules designed to warn the occupant of any attempts to track or locate his whereabouts.
Getting comfortable, he activated the active warning devices before checking his watch and dialing up a number. Once the dial tone was received, the scrambler kicked in, decoding inbound messages and encrypting outbound ones. With all the active warning equipment up and running, he tested the mic before switching the screen on. The screen buzzed to life, showing a large circular room with a circular table set in a stone base. Set into the table, evenly spaced were 15 holographic projectors, one for each chair at the table. Not being a scheduled meeting, the chairs were all empty, in fact the whole room was unused except for the three other holographic projectors. Normally, an image of the respective owner would be shown, but on this occasion, the 'Sound Only' screen was chosen, the members choosing forgo the formality of it all. Instead, the only distinguishing features among the four images were the numbers below the "sound Only' logo. Those numbers being 01, 02, 03, and 04.
01: Ah, You decided to finally join us. Welcome number 3.
03: Hello all. Sorry for the delay, I had to make sure I wasn't followed.
01: Very well. What is the purpose of this meeting, 3?
03: Yes. Well, I called for this meeting because of a discovery I made last night. Now I assume your all aware of a man called Ryogi Kaji, correct?
02: Yes we are, continue.
03: Well it has come to my attention that NERV and Ikari himself may have underestimated the resourcefulness of this particular individual.
04: And how is that?
03: I'm uploading some information that was attained when I hacked into his personal database via a Magi terminal last night.
The man removed a disk from his pocket and loaded it into the reader before typing in the commands to send it to the other members logged on.
03: As you can see, nothing that we haven't seen before, but the question is...
01: How did HE get his hands on this?
"Oh...that was a killer..." Asuka burst out into more laughter. "Please...no more..." she blurted out as her midsection hitched up and down, trying to force air into her exhausted lungs.
"O-okay." Shinji got his breathing under control before sitting upright on the floor. Since their little talk earlier things had quickly become more jovial, especially in Asuka's case as she began making up for lost ground to Shinji by downing most of the remnants of the bottle. Had they not been so inebriated, the alcohol consumption would probably still be in progress. However, for the last ten minutes, grossly unfunny jokes had been shared by the duo, met with an unusual amount of side splitting laughter.
Finally able to keep a straight face, Asuka raised herself to a seating position as well and faced Shinji. Suppressing a giggle, she eyed him, waiting for a conversation starter to appear.
"So, um like what did you and Kaji get up to? Anything cheeky?" Shinji did his best Misato impression, even adding a wink.
"Not even close! In fact now that you mention it, the only things we ever did were so tame that I wouldn't be surprised if people thought he was my older brother!"
"Huh?"
"You know! Usual stuff like going to carnivals, the movies, shopping." Asuka said, counting off her fingers.
"Usual?"
"Yeah! Just normal stuff, that's all, although it was fun when I used to get Kaji to pick me up from my friends places. My friends always got jealous at me!" Asuka smirked.
"Wow, it must be fun to have someone like that to take you places..."
Asuka gave Shinji a 'What the HELL are you talking about?' look.
"You know, like an older brother."
"Oh THAT! Don't worry, it's over rated anyway." Asuka said dismissingly.
"But still...I never had a bigger brother or sister to do that with..."
"Duh silly, that's what your fathers for!" She sounded annoyed.
"Yeah...but..." Shinji sighed.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" She cut him off. "We are having fun tonight, not getting all down about you and your father, you hear me?!?"
Shinji nodded his acknowledgment.
"Good, now change the subject!"
"OK." He racked his brain for something fun to talk about. "How about...you tell me about Germany?"
"What?"
"You know, Germany. Deutschland."
"I know that! But why the interest?"
"Well, you always seem to enjoy talking about Germany, so now I'm listening." he stated.
"OK, where to start...."
He sat quietly as his colleagues discussed openly between themselves, answering any questions they had from time to time.
01: So, you found all this data on his database, right?
03: Yep. I acquired his password from a hacker contact of mine, and then I hacked in after hours when there was a skeleton shift working.
02: And you think he would be useful to our cause?
03: Think about it? The information he has can only be acquired by someone who has a vast contact base. And judging by the size of the file, he's been gathering this information for a while now. Not to mention that it takes some skill for him to do what he has done. He might be the perfect field operative we've been looking for. And to top it off, it seems he's doing this for personal gain, and not working for an organisation, which makes him easier to recruit.
04: Yes, it does seem that way, but can he be trusted?
01: Can anyone be trusted these days? That's the question. I have given your suggestion some thought, and if there are no objections I see no reason to not contact him.
02: I second that.
04: Me too.
01: Good, then it is agreed. As of tomorrow you will initiate contact with Ryogi Kaji and he will be given the opportunity to join our organisation. The usual precautions apply. Run a security check on him, and make sure no one comes in direct face to face contact with him until it is 110% certain he can be trusted.
03: Understood. Consider it done.
01: Very well. This meeting is over. The next time we meet is our weekly meeting. I hope to see you all there, Goodnight.
One by one, the holograms disappeared until 03 was still showing. Sighing, 03 signed off and pocketed his disk before shutting down all machinery. "Tomorrow you meet your destiny." he whispered before exiting the chamber, looking forward to getting home and taking a warm bath.
"What?" Asuka was becoming self conscious. Shinji had been staring at her with a serene smile ever since she had finished talking.
"Huh? Oh nothing. It's just, you seemed so happy when you were talking that's all."
"Well, you'd probably be the same if I asked you about Japan."
"I don't think so..." he whispered.
"Not again!" she exclaimed. "Come on, out with it! What's wrong now?"
"Nothing, it's just that I really don't know much about Japan myself. I mean before I came here the only place I've ever been was in Tokyo-2 with my uncle."
"So?!? Heaps of people are like that! What's to say that Tokyo-2 was boring?"
"I guess I would have been OK if my father was actually around to do things with me..."
Asuka was too shocked that Shinji was divulging this information to speak.
"I mean when you were telling me about all those things you did back in Germany with Kaji and your friends it got me thinking. You know, my father left me with my uncle when I was four. Just left. And my uncle didn't really care for me, only enough so that I stayed alive." He turned to see if Asuka was still listening to his sob story. "I never got to do those things you said. Never went to the movies, or the carnival, or even a friends house. Not to mention going on picnics or holidays or even just to the park to play. I never got to do any of those things and it just pisses me off when I think about it sometimes. How my father just abandoned me..."
Asuka was beyond shock now. She didn't know this about Shinji. When she had first came to Japan, she had gotten a hold of his personal file. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Father was head of NERV, Mother died in an accident, living with uncle in Tokyo-2, average grades, no disabilities, no mental disorders. Just an average kid. How wrong she was.
"I...I...you haven't had it easy have you?" she asked in a sincere tone.
Shinji sighed. "No..."
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, or maybe it was the fact that that evening she had connected with Shinji in a way she had not done since she could remember or maybe it was her inner conscience. Whatever it was, she found herself saying something she would normally have not.
"Well that's going to change! As of tomorrow, I, Asuka Langley Sorhyu, am going to personally make sure you, Shinji Ikari, have a fun and prosperous life in Tokyo-3!" She stated with conviction and determination.
"....say what....?"
"You heard me! I'm going to show you a good time!"
"Why?"
"Cos you need it! And we are friends aren't we?" He nodded.
"Good. Then it's settled. Tomorrow be prepared for some fun." She gave him a warm smile. "Now, time for bed third child. I have a feeling your gonna need the energy tomorrow."
Shinji couldn't stop smiling as he made his way to his room. Not only did he have a decent conversation with Asuka, but they had come to an understanding of such, hell, she even said they were friends! Not believing how well things had turned out that evening, he snuggled into his bed, content that for once he would get a good nights sleep. As for tomorrow, that was tomorrow, and as they say. "Tomorrow is another day."
END OF CHAPTER 3
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Author's Notes:
Well...what lies in store for young Shinji Ikari? Sorry to disappoint all of those who thought that they would get drunk and engage in wild acts of pleasure...Pleeease, get a hold of reality!
Did you like my little secret men's business part? And you wondered why the story's called Secrets and Lies....anyway, this marks the point in the story where other things come into play. Don't fret, I'm still going to pursue a Shinji+Asuka relationship, however I thought that 50 odd chapters of pure waff would be a tad too extreme.
Just to clear up a few things from last chapter...thanks to the reviews, I realised that there were a couple of grammatical errors in chapter 2. Not to worry, I've fixed them and the revised chapter 2 will be posted when this is, so if your reading this then ch2 will be up and running. Sorry bout the mix up, it won't happen again, that is until the next time I find myself writing a 30kb odd file in a day and forgetting to proof read it because it's four thirty in the morning on a school day and all I have on my mind is how crappy my radio reception in my room is....I mean sleep!
Please review, the longer the better. I would actually like people to give me their views on my writing and the story, not just a 'it's good' or 'it sucks'. Please tell me why it was good, or more importantly why it sucked so I can improve it. hey, it's the least you can do after I've slaved all week to bring you out another chapter. I await all reviews with much anticipation. until next week, ja ne. ;p
Email: e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
The Golden Child, Digital Underground, 2001