The Digital Underground Presents
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
=========================
Chapter 4: First Contact
=========================
Dragging his sore body out of bed, Shinji made his way to the bathroom to prepare himself for the day. As he passed his clock he noted it was still early Sunday morning, yet he could make out the distinct sounds of commotion coming from the kitchen.
Having a good look at himself in the mirror, he began combing out his hair.
"You know what they say. 'You know you've had a good night's sleep if your hair's messy.'" He muttered to himself as he bought the water into play in an attempt to stop his hair from sticking up.
After a good ten minutes wrestling with the comb, and a few more spent brushing his teeth, he emerged from the bathroom bleary eyed and all, running on autopilot.
As he made his way to the kitchen, his brain translated his retinal impulses and informed him that both Asuka and Misato were seated at the table. Probably waiting for me to make breakfast, he thought as he continued. Left foot, right foot, left foot. Wait a minute! They're already eating!
"Well well, if it isn't the great Shinji himself." joked Misato as he fell into a seat. "So glad of you to join us."
Shinji blinked, then looked at Misato who sipped her beer and blinked back. He then glanced at Asuka who had her back to him, buttering some toast. He then turned to Misato and noticed her lips were moving, however the words weren't registering. As his head absently nodded to the rhythm of Misato's words he was dimly aware of a ring in the background. That was followed by a much more pronounced crash as Asuka deposited a plate in front of him with two slices of freshly toasted bread.
"There you go. Don't expect this to be an everyday occurrence though, I was hungry and didn't want Misato to cook, that's all. Well.....?"
As Shinji looked up at Asuka speaking, he noticed how her facial features turned from happy to neutral to a frown before she huffed and strode off to the fridge. Moments later he was greeted with a very cold object pressed up against his head, followed by a slap to the forehead.
"I think he's finally gone stupid after that hit last night!"
"Maybe right..." laughed Misato.
"Um...Thank you Asuka." Shinji spoke up after finally snapping out of his trance.
"Hmmmph, it's about time! Your welcome Shinji, but you owe me big time." she smirked.
"OK, but next time can you not hit me so hard? My head feels funny now."
Asuka rolled her eyes in disbelief before pulling the post it note she had unceremoniously stuck to his head off and slammed it onto the table.
"Baka! That's a message from your stooge friend!"
"Oh...oops...gomen." he sheepishly replied as he read the message.
'Shinji. Kensuke called. Give him a call first thing.'
Recognizing the Kanji as Misato's, he turned to her for an explanation.
"Oh yeah...Last night Kensuke called when you were drunk so I took a message. They plan on taking you to the movies today because you aren't going to Okinawa with them and I said you'd give them a call this morning to confirm so get going and start calling."
Asuka frowned as she viciously bit into her toast. She had planned on going to that new amusement park with Shinji today, however his stupid friends had ruined that prospect, not to mention he seemed to have forgotten also. Therefore, she sat quietly at the table, mumbling as she chewed. Shinji would probably choose to go with her if she reminded him, however her pride put an end to that idea.
After a few minutes Shinji reappeared and began finishing off his toast while he juggled with the ice pack on his head.
"So what time are you going? You need a lift?" Misato questioned.
"8 o'clock."
"That's in ten minutes!" Misato stated as she checked the oven clock.
"Tonight. I remembered I have somewhere to go with Asuka today so we're going to sleep over at Touji's house tonight and watch movies. Is that ok?"
"Sure it is." Misato smiled.
Asuka on the other hand let out a muffled choke as she crammed her mouth full of bread to hide her grin. Maybe Shinji wasn't as stupid as she thought.
"So...where is Shinji taking you on this date?" Misato inquired with her trade mark wink.
"We are NOT going out on a DATE and don't you forget that!" screamed Asuka. "Geez, just because I feel sorry for the guy and decide to show him how to have a life doesn't mean we're getting married!"
"OK, ok. Calm down. I was only joking you know. So where are you and Shinji going then?"
"The new amusement park on the harbourside. Amusing, Is it not?." she replied enthusiastically. Asuka had heard from people at school that the new park was a work of art in design and rides and had wanted to try it out since she got here. Apparently it was only a year or so old and so was still in great condition and all the rides were still a treat, although they were based on designs almost half a century ago.
"Oh that reminds me. Seeing as we can't go to Okinawa, you can pay for us today."
"Ok"
"What...?" Asuka had been expecting a different answer. Although the cost of entry wasn't astronomical, Misato surely couldn't afford to pay for them both. Asuka herself could barely afford it herself because she figured she would be refunded for not going on the school trip.
"No problem. Here use this card. It's a NERV debit card. I was issued it when I became your guardians for the sole purpose of financing your needs."
"Wow! All expenses paid!" shouted Asuka with joy.
"Are you sure it's ok?" questioned Shinji skeptically.
"Absolutely. Commander Fuyutski gave me special permission to show you two a fun time because of your situation so enjoy."
Misato finished her beer and left for her room. "I'm off to NERV, want a lift to the park?"
"Yeah?" both replied in unison
"OK. We leave in half an hour."
Half an hour later, all three were packed into Misato's car, speeding down the highway, destination Amusing, Is it not?. Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, One Ryogi Kaji was just clocking in at NERV HQ. As he made his way to his makeshift office, he mentally went through his 'To Do' list. Break up with Asuka. Check. Shampoo hair. Check. Aftershave. Check. Calibrate password scanner. Check. Clip nails. Check. Hit on Misato. Work in progress. Hack into Melchior database number 100423. Work in progress. Undo tie slightly. Check. Gun loaded. Check. Refresher mints. Check.
"Well, all set for another day at the office."
Swiping his entry card again, he curtly entered his office and booted up his computer terminal, not forgetting to engage his scrambler module hidden under the table.
Moments later, as the coffee maker announced the first batch of coffee was done, Kaji was already decoding the Magi encryption device.
"Take care and don't be home too late, or I'll cook dinner ok?"
"Ok Misato. Bye." both teens waved as Misato drove away. Thumbing the card in her pocket, Asuka quickly strode towards the entrance, not waiting for Shinji. Luckily they had arrived just as the park was opening and as such there wasn't a long wait to get in.
As soon as they stepped through the turnstiles, Asuka grabbed Shinji's wrist and pulled him aside. "Ok. First things first. Today is a fun day so there are some rules to adhere by. One. No moping or getting down. Two. No complaining. Three. Obey everything I say. Four. Observe the master and you'll have a great time. Got it?"
"Yes Master." Shinji grinned, getting caught up in the excitement.
"Great! Now for the fun!" Asuka skipped off to the nearest ride, the whole time not letting go of Shinji's wrist.
Pulling into her parking spot with a squeal and a lock of the brakes, Misato scanned the level and spotted the car she was looking for.
"Perfect." she whispered as she engaged the remote central locking and made her way to the elevator. She had a score to settle.
"Bingo!" Kaji clapped his hands as he saw the counter reach zero, indicating the database was open. Moving the cursor to the first icon, he double clicked it and steadied himself to intake some highly confidential information, however, what he saw, caused a shiver down his spine. Before he could think, the door beeped. Getting his brain into gear, he hit the off switch for the monitor and swung his chair around, hand at the ready to unholster his fire arm.
He quickly withdrew his hand and smiled when the door opened to reveal Misato. "Why Katsuragi. What a pleasant surprise. Here on business or pleasure." he said with a crooked grin.
"Cut the bullshit! What the hell do you think your doing?!?!" she demanded.
"I don't know what your talking about?" he glanced at his monitor to double check that it was indeed off.
"Don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about ASUKA!"
"Oh..." Kaji smiled. Still too quick for them to catch. "How much do I owe? I'll pay for anything she broke."
"Put your money away! Nothing's broken, however, I might not be able to say the same about you when I'm through!"
"Calm down Misato..." He had expected Asuka to act like this, but Misato? Maybe she was becoming too attached to the kids.
"Calm down? Calm down? How can I calm down?!?!" Misato was really getting worked up now. Although Asuka was a handful sometimes, Misato was her guardian and was determined to protect her and Shinji from harm, physical and emotional. "You just broke a little girls heart! Don't you care about her at all?!?!?" She screamed into his face, ready to see his hurt reaction.
"More than you can imagine." he replied in a soft yet very serious tone as he got off the chair and raised himself to his full height to look her in the eye. "More than you can imagine." he repeated. "I would give my life for that girl."
"Then why? Why did you do it?" her tone returning to normal.
"I did it for her. She doesn't need me. What she needs is someone who will be there for her, someone who can love her, someone to make her forget the past. I'm not that person and I'd only be making it worse for her if I kept pretending I was. We both know it had to happen. Better now than later when she's older."
Misato crossed her arms. She knew he was right. She hated when he was right. "That's beside the point! You could have at least done it less conspicuously!"
"We're talking about Asuka here. Anything less conspicuous and do you think she would have gotten the message?" he grinned, knowing he was winning this little argument.
"This is not over! Your not off the hook Mister!" Misato stormed out of his office in a huff, not at all happy that he had turned the argument around to his favor. Giving the door a good kick and a suggestion to go forth and self procreate, she headed for the command centre.
After he was sure Misato was gone, Kaji let out a sigh of relief before switching back the monitor. What greeted him was still the same screen with the same three lines.
'We've been watching you. You should do well to watch yourself. You have mail.'
After the initial shock had died away, and after he convinced himself that he couldn't have been found out, he checked his mail box. One blank envelope. Opening the envelope, he was greeted with a sheet of paper and some writing.
'We know who you are. We have been watching you and now the time has come for you to meet your destiny. Do not ask why me? But rather why not earlier. Tomorrow you shall meet that which has eluded you for so long. The truth. The path you choose now shall determine your future. On one hand, ignore this and continue on your way. On the other hand, take this letter as the start of your journey. If you choose the latter then you will endeavor to be at Pier 14 in Tokyo Harbour. Pick me up at 9:00pm sharp next to the phone booth. Good bye and Good Luck. May your choice be the right one.'
Not knowing what to think of the letter, he quickly burnt it and shut his computer down, searching for the nearest vending machine that dispensed beer.
END OF CHAPTER 4
=======================================================================
Author's Notes
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH Sorry for the delay. Gomen Nasi ^_^
There were a couple of reasons why it took a while for this chapter to come out. One is the obvious one and that was exams. However the other one was a really stupid one. Unfortunately my ISP decided to go belly up last month so for a couple of weeks I was stuck without internet access. Not to worry though, as I have now started a new account with an ISP that hopefully won't go bankrupt. How an internet company offering cheap rates and outstanding services, and the backing of the two richest and influential media magnates in Australia with $450 million in assets goes in the red I'll never know.
Anyway, now that my ISP problems are fixed, I can work on the fanfics, and I also have a month off to do it in.
You may have noticed that this chapter is unusually short, or short compared to previous. That's because the first three were building up to something. If any of you are left confused about anything like the reactions of the characters or the direction of the plot or anything else for that matter, be patient. It's not a continuity flaw, just part of the story. All will be revealed later, I promise. And another thing, for those of you out there thinking that the little meeting I had going was SEELE, think again. I'm not telling who they are but, they're definitely not SEELE. Once again, patience is a virtue.
On a trivial note. Did you know that in Japan, there are vending machines that sell beer! In fact, beer is one of the lesser weird things they sell. You can buy rice, laundry powder, cutlery, and get this. There's a machine that dispenses soiled womens underwear in vacuum sealed packages! They come in packs of three with a picture of the wearer when they were a school girl. Talk about weird!
By the way, anyone guess where I got the name for the amusement park from?
Anywho. It's late, and I have a busy day tomorrow so me must post now. Until we meet again ;p
e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
The Golden Child, Digital Underground, 2001
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Secrets and Lies
The Golden Child, 2001
=========================
Chapter 4: First Contact
=========================
Dragging his sore body out of bed, Shinji made his way to the bathroom to prepare himself for the day. As he passed his clock he noted it was still early Sunday morning, yet he could make out the distinct sounds of commotion coming from the kitchen.
Having a good look at himself in the mirror, he began combing out his hair.
"You know what they say. 'You know you've had a good night's sleep if your hair's messy.'" He muttered to himself as he bought the water into play in an attempt to stop his hair from sticking up.
After a good ten minutes wrestling with the comb, and a few more spent brushing his teeth, he emerged from the bathroom bleary eyed and all, running on autopilot.
As he made his way to the kitchen, his brain translated his retinal impulses and informed him that both Asuka and Misato were seated at the table. Probably waiting for me to make breakfast, he thought as he continued. Left foot, right foot, left foot. Wait a minute! They're already eating!
"Well well, if it isn't the great Shinji himself." joked Misato as he fell into a seat. "So glad of you to join us."
Shinji blinked, then looked at Misato who sipped her beer and blinked back. He then glanced at Asuka who had her back to him, buttering some toast. He then turned to Misato and noticed her lips were moving, however the words weren't registering. As his head absently nodded to the rhythm of Misato's words he was dimly aware of a ring in the background. That was followed by a much more pronounced crash as Asuka deposited a plate in front of him with two slices of freshly toasted bread.
"There you go. Don't expect this to be an everyday occurrence though, I was hungry and didn't want Misato to cook, that's all. Well.....?"
As Shinji looked up at Asuka speaking, he noticed how her facial features turned from happy to neutral to a frown before she huffed and strode off to the fridge. Moments later he was greeted with a very cold object pressed up against his head, followed by a slap to the forehead.
"I think he's finally gone stupid after that hit last night!"
"Maybe right..." laughed Misato.
"Um...Thank you Asuka." Shinji spoke up after finally snapping out of his trance.
"Hmmmph, it's about time! Your welcome Shinji, but you owe me big time." she smirked.
"OK, but next time can you not hit me so hard? My head feels funny now."
Asuka rolled her eyes in disbelief before pulling the post it note she had unceremoniously stuck to his head off and slammed it onto the table.
"Baka! That's a message from your stooge friend!"
"Oh...oops...gomen." he sheepishly replied as he read the message.
'Shinji. Kensuke called. Give him a call first thing.'
Recognizing the Kanji as Misato's, he turned to her for an explanation.
"Oh yeah...Last night Kensuke called when you were drunk so I took a message. They plan on taking you to the movies today because you aren't going to Okinawa with them and I said you'd give them a call this morning to confirm so get going and start calling."
Asuka frowned as she viciously bit into her toast. She had planned on going to that new amusement park with Shinji today, however his stupid friends had ruined that prospect, not to mention he seemed to have forgotten also. Therefore, she sat quietly at the table, mumbling as she chewed. Shinji would probably choose to go with her if she reminded him, however her pride put an end to that idea.
After a few minutes Shinji reappeared and began finishing off his toast while he juggled with the ice pack on his head.
"So what time are you going? You need a lift?" Misato questioned.
"8 o'clock."
"That's in ten minutes!" Misato stated as she checked the oven clock.
"Tonight. I remembered I have somewhere to go with Asuka today so we're going to sleep over at Touji's house tonight and watch movies. Is that ok?"
"Sure it is." Misato smiled.
Asuka on the other hand let out a muffled choke as she crammed her mouth full of bread to hide her grin. Maybe Shinji wasn't as stupid as she thought.
"So...where is Shinji taking you on this date?" Misato inquired with her trade mark wink.
"We are NOT going out on a DATE and don't you forget that!" screamed Asuka. "Geez, just because I feel sorry for the guy and decide to show him how to have a life doesn't mean we're getting married!"
"OK, ok. Calm down. I was only joking you know. So where are you and Shinji going then?"
"The new amusement park on the harbourside. Amusing, Is it not?." she replied enthusiastically. Asuka had heard from people at school that the new park was a work of art in design and rides and had wanted to try it out since she got here. Apparently it was only a year or so old and so was still in great condition and all the rides were still a treat, although they were based on designs almost half a century ago.
"Oh that reminds me. Seeing as we can't go to Okinawa, you can pay for us today."
"Ok"
"What...?" Asuka had been expecting a different answer. Although the cost of entry wasn't astronomical, Misato surely couldn't afford to pay for them both. Asuka herself could barely afford it herself because she figured she would be refunded for not going on the school trip.
"No problem. Here use this card. It's a NERV debit card. I was issued it when I became your guardians for the sole purpose of financing your needs."
"Wow! All expenses paid!" shouted Asuka with joy.
"Are you sure it's ok?" questioned Shinji skeptically.
"Absolutely. Commander Fuyutski gave me special permission to show you two a fun time because of your situation so enjoy."
Misato finished her beer and left for her room. "I'm off to NERV, want a lift to the park?"
"Yeah?" both replied in unison
"OK. We leave in half an hour."
Half an hour later, all three were packed into Misato's car, speeding down the highway, destination Amusing, Is it not?. Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, One Ryogi Kaji was just clocking in at NERV HQ. As he made his way to his makeshift office, he mentally went through his 'To Do' list. Break up with Asuka. Check. Shampoo hair. Check. Aftershave. Check. Calibrate password scanner. Check. Clip nails. Check. Hit on Misato. Work in progress. Hack into Melchior database number 100423. Work in progress. Undo tie slightly. Check. Gun loaded. Check. Refresher mints. Check.
"Well, all set for another day at the office."
Swiping his entry card again, he curtly entered his office and booted up his computer terminal, not forgetting to engage his scrambler module hidden under the table.
Moments later, as the coffee maker announced the first batch of coffee was done, Kaji was already decoding the Magi encryption device.
"Take care and don't be home too late, or I'll cook dinner ok?"
"Ok Misato. Bye." both teens waved as Misato drove away. Thumbing the card in her pocket, Asuka quickly strode towards the entrance, not waiting for Shinji. Luckily they had arrived just as the park was opening and as such there wasn't a long wait to get in.
As soon as they stepped through the turnstiles, Asuka grabbed Shinji's wrist and pulled him aside. "Ok. First things first. Today is a fun day so there are some rules to adhere by. One. No moping or getting down. Two. No complaining. Three. Obey everything I say. Four. Observe the master and you'll have a great time. Got it?"
"Yes Master." Shinji grinned, getting caught up in the excitement.
"Great! Now for the fun!" Asuka skipped off to the nearest ride, the whole time not letting go of Shinji's wrist.
Pulling into her parking spot with a squeal and a lock of the brakes, Misato scanned the level and spotted the car she was looking for.
"Perfect." she whispered as she engaged the remote central locking and made her way to the elevator. She had a score to settle.
"Bingo!" Kaji clapped his hands as he saw the counter reach zero, indicating the database was open. Moving the cursor to the first icon, he double clicked it and steadied himself to intake some highly confidential information, however, what he saw, caused a shiver down his spine. Before he could think, the door beeped. Getting his brain into gear, he hit the off switch for the monitor and swung his chair around, hand at the ready to unholster his fire arm.
He quickly withdrew his hand and smiled when the door opened to reveal Misato. "Why Katsuragi. What a pleasant surprise. Here on business or pleasure." he said with a crooked grin.
"Cut the bullshit! What the hell do you think your doing?!?!" she demanded.
"I don't know what your talking about?" he glanced at his monitor to double check that it was indeed off.
"Don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about ASUKA!"
"Oh..." Kaji smiled. Still too quick for them to catch. "How much do I owe? I'll pay for anything she broke."
"Put your money away! Nothing's broken, however, I might not be able to say the same about you when I'm through!"
"Calm down Misato..." He had expected Asuka to act like this, but Misato? Maybe she was becoming too attached to the kids.
"Calm down? Calm down? How can I calm down?!?!" Misato was really getting worked up now. Although Asuka was a handful sometimes, Misato was her guardian and was determined to protect her and Shinji from harm, physical and emotional. "You just broke a little girls heart! Don't you care about her at all?!?!?" She screamed into his face, ready to see his hurt reaction.
"More than you can imagine." he replied in a soft yet very serious tone as he got off the chair and raised himself to his full height to look her in the eye. "More than you can imagine." he repeated. "I would give my life for that girl."
"Then why? Why did you do it?" her tone returning to normal.
"I did it for her. She doesn't need me. What she needs is someone who will be there for her, someone who can love her, someone to make her forget the past. I'm not that person and I'd only be making it worse for her if I kept pretending I was. We both know it had to happen. Better now than later when she's older."
Misato crossed her arms. She knew he was right. She hated when he was right. "That's beside the point! You could have at least done it less conspicuously!"
"We're talking about Asuka here. Anything less conspicuous and do you think she would have gotten the message?" he grinned, knowing he was winning this little argument.
"This is not over! Your not off the hook Mister!" Misato stormed out of his office in a huff, not at all happy that he had turned the argument around to his favor. Giving the door a good kick and a suggestion to go forth and self procreate, she headed for the command centre.
After he was sure Misato was gone, Kaji let out a sigh of relief before switching back the monitor. What greeted him was still the same screen with the same three lines.
'We've been watching you. You should do well to watch yourself. You have mail.'
After the initial shock had died away, and after he convinced himself that he couldn't have been found out, he checked his mail box. One blank envelope. Opening the envelope, he was greeted with a sheet of paper and some writing.
'We know who you are. We have been watching you and now the time has come for you to meet your destiny. Do not ask why me? But rather why not earlier. Tomorrow you shall meet that which has eluded you for so long. The truth. The path you choose now shall determine your future. On one hand, ignore this and continue on your way. On the other hand, take this letter as the start of your journey. If you choose the latter then you will endeavor to be at Pier 14 in Tokyo Harbour. Pick me up at 9:00pm sharp next to the phone booth. Good bye and Good Luck. May your choice be the right one.'
Not knowing what to think of the letter, he quickly burnt it and shut his computer down, searching for the nearest vending machine that dispensed beer.
END OF CHAPTER 4
=======================================================================
Author's Notes
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH Sorry for the delay. Gomen Nasi ^_^
There were a couple of reasons why it took a while for this chapter to come out. One is the obvious one and that was exams. However the other one was a really stupid one. Unfortunately my ISP decided to go belly up last month so for a couple of weeks I was stuck without internet access. Not to worry though, as I have now started a new account with an ISP that hopefully won't go bankrupt. How an internet company offering cheap rates and outstanding services, and the backing of the two richest and influential media magnates in Australia with $450 million in assets goes in the red I'll never know.
Anyway, now that my ISP problems are fixed, I can work on the fanfics, and I also have a month off to do it in.
You may have noticed that this chapter is unusually short, or short compared to previous. That's because the first three were building up to something. If any of you are left confused about anything like the reactions of the characters or the direction of the plot or anything else for that matter, be patient. It's not a continuity flaw, just part of the story. All will be revealed later, I promise. And another thing, for those of you out there thinking that the little meeting I had going was SEELE, think again. I'm not telling who they are but, they're definitely not SEELE. Once again, patience is a virtue.
On a trivial note. Did you know that in Japan, there are vending machines that sell beer! In fact, beer is one of the lesser weird things they sell. You can buy rice, laundry powder, cutlery, and get this. There's a machine that dispenses soiled womens underwear in vacuum sealed packages! They come in packs of three with a picture of the wearer when they were a school girl. Talk about weird!
By the way, anyone guess where I got the name for the amusement park from?
Anywho. It's late, and I have a busy day tomorrow so me must post now. Until we meet again ;p
e_digitalunderground@hotmail.com
The Golden Child, Digital Underground, 2001