When routine bites hard
And ambitions are low
And the resentment rides high
But emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways
Taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Why is the bedroom so cold
Turned away on your side?
Is my timing that flawed
Are my feelings so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives
Love, love will tear up apart again
Need to cry out in you sleep
All my feelings expose?
Yet there's a taste in my mouth
As desperation takes hold
Yeah that something so good
Just can't function no more?
But love, love will tear up apart again.
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division.
It was late in the day as Kensuke approached the apartment building. Not quite dusk, it was probably an hour to sunset, but the shadows were getting really long. He was approaching from the east so he was well within the shadow cast by the massive concrete monolith. Tokyo-3 may be a new city full of modern convenience, but some of the buildings were just plain ugly, warehouses for people. Kensuke occasionally amused himself by giving buildings that he disliked by giving them his own names him his own names, this particular building he occasionally referred to as 'the Warrens'. He pulled into a parking space that was identified as belonging to Visitor.
The door chime sounded. Toji scooped up the wriggling little creature that lay on the changing table before him and made his way to the door.
"Ya?" he inquired of the device mounted on the wall beside the door.
"It's Ken, Whatcha doing?" Kensuke's voice was emitted from the plastic grill of the intercom.
Toji suddenly dodged his head to the right to avoid a drool-covered finger that was attempting to plant itself in his left eye. Following that he shifted his burden to his right arm and used his left to unlock and open the door.
"Hey buddy, come on in," Toji said as he turned and readjusted the now squealing bundle of joy.
"I was just putting Koi down for the night. Why don't you grab some beers out of the fridge and I'll meet you on the balcony in a couple of minutes."
Toji had moved out of the hallway and into the main living area to allow Kensuke room to get in and close the door. Koi managed to wriggle around so that she too was facing Kensuke.
"Say hello to Uncle Ken now Koi," Toji prompted his daughter.
Koi emitted more high-pitched squealing.
Kensuke having closed the door turned and looked at Koi. After a second or two he stood up straight and leaned back slightly. He raised one eyebrow for dramatic effect and in his best over dramatized 1960's spy voice spoke.
"Hello Koi," as if he was addressing his arch-nemesis.
Koi immediately responded with more squealing and clapping even.
Toji chuckled to himself as he started edging off towards the baby's room.
"I'll meet you outside then?" Kensuke confirmed.
"Yup, gimmie a couple of minutes," Toji's replied.
Kensuke turned to his right and headed onto the kitchen. Looked around briefly then opened the fridge. He reached in a grabbed two cans of beer then stood up and let the fridge door swing shut on under its own weight. The cans immediately began to sweat, the humidity in the small apartment being what it was. He shifted one of the cans to his other hand and made his way to the balcony.
He sat down in one of the chairs and looked out over the west end of the city. The setting sun painted to roofs of the buildings red. The sunsets weren't as red as he remembered from his childhood; mind you there was still a lot of dust in the air from the Second Impact. Say what you will but the particulates did make for some spectacular sunsets. After a couple of moments the screen door sliding open interrupted his thoughts.
"So how ya been?" Toji asked as he stepped out onto the balcony.
"Not too bad, kind of a weird day at work though," Kensuke replied still fixated on the view.
Toji picked up the can of beer off the table that sat between the two chairs and replaced it with the baby monitor, through which they could both hear a sleepy sounding gurgling.
Toji popped the tab on his can and held it out at Kensuke.
"Cheers," he said.
Kensuke sat up and tapped his can against Toji's.
"Cheers," Kensuke replied.
They took generous mouthfuls from their cans. Kensuke slouched back in his chair, then promptly set down his can and stood up.
Toji took a step to the end of the balcony and turned to face the apartment, leaning against the railing.
"Just come from work?" Toji asked.
"Mmm," Kensuke returned as he took off his suit jacket and sat back down, "Hikari working late again?"
"Ya, saving the world from E. Coli again."
Kensuke looked up a Toji with a slightly puzzled expression.
"No that's not what she tells me," Toji continued, anticipating Kensuske's question. "I know exactly what she does."
Toji winced slightly, knowing he probably shouldn't have said that.
"Really?" Kensuke smiled and raised his eyebrow. "So how much do you know?"
"Dammit you know I didn't mean to say that. Don't get her in trouble now dumbass," Toji said quickly.
Kensuke smiled again, "Relax what ever she tells you in bed is none of my business. Serious though, and without being specific, how much do you know?"
"Probably more than you do." Toji smiled as he spoke, "Now cut it out with your 'advanced' interrogation tricks."
Kensuke face turned to a thoughtful look; he realized that with a little prodding in the right directions he could probably get Toji to tell him all that he knew. However Toji knew that as well and was basically just asked him not to.
Instead of speaking Kensuke just looked up at his friend, who was still standing, and nodded. He then looked back out over the city. The sun was sinking rapidly now. That perception of acceleration as the sun got nearer the horizon was in full effect. In another couple of minutes they would loose the sun entirely as even now its edge was almost touching the ridges of the mountains to the west of the city.
"Any plans for the weekend yet?" Toji asked, obviously changing the subject.
Kensuke grunted and after a moment spoke, "Not yet. You?"
"Nope."
They sat in silence as good friends who understand each other are wont to do.
"I was thinking about Shinji this morning. We should head up to the cabin and go fishing. We haven't seen him in a while, well any of them actually." Kensuke said breaking the silence.
Toji's face brightened momentarily then relaxed, "That'd be cool but it's hard to predict Hikari's schedule, Koi and all. May we could get him to come into the city. They haven't done that in a while either," Toji replied.
Toji chose this moment to move away from the railing and take a seat on the other side of the table from Kensuke. The both looked out over the city as the sun slow sank.
Kensuke returned, "Well I don't know. Remember what happened last time they came in and we all went out?"
Kensuke waited and smiled wondering how long it would take until Toji would remembered the event he was thinking about.
Toji laughed suddenly. He tipped up his can and swallowed the last couple of drops.
"Want another?" he asked.
Kensuke grunted in affirmation. Toji drew open the screen door and stepped into the apartment.
"Listen to the… thing there." Toji said pointing at the remote speaker for the baby monitor.
"I am totally in control. Fear not." Kensuke said in a slightly mocking tone.
Toji closed the door after him and shook his head while rolling his eyes. Kensuke caught a glimpse of this and smiled. He then looked at the table to his left; the baby monitor was emitting a quite static that was occasionally punctuated by a little gurgle. Koi was obviously asleep now.
'I wonder if I'll ever have children,' he though to himself.
The screen door slide open again and Toji stepped back through. After he was seated again he handed a new can over to Kensuke.
"That was pretty funny that last time we all went out." Toji began, "When Shinji tried to hit on Maya."
Kensuke laughed, "That was pretty funny. Maya was so drunk she wasn't sure who it was. She was so mad the next day, though you weren't around for that."
+++
It was almost dusk as Asuka pedaled up to the cottage. She rode right up to the porch stairs before she dismounted. She stood beside her bike facing the steps and frowned slightly. Slowly she turned her head to look over her right shoulder. All she saw was the lake, misting slightly as the air cooled.
"Figures," she breathed to herself.
She shook her head then adjusted the pack she had slung across her back bringing it around to her front so the pedal wouldn't catch. With almost no effort at all since it was almost completely titanium, she picked up the bike and set the cross bar on her right shoulder and walked up onto the porch. She walked to the far end where there was a cable lock threaded though a bracket on the wall. She manoeuvred the front wheel of the bike into the bracket and the let the bike hang free. After locking the bike up she slipped her pack off and headed to the door.
One inside she casually pitched the pack onto the chair just inside the door. She placed her hands on her hips, arched her back and let out a slow sigh.
"That was almost a complete waste of time, she said aloud as if there were others around to hear her. "Stupid new kids, thinking they're all that. Just 'cause I'm 28 doesn't make me old and it certainly doesn't mean I can't Aikido your ass into the carpet."
She took a slow deep breath and consciously tried to remove the look of frustration from her face. She then kicked off her shoes and walked over to the kitchen. She glanced at the phone, then the terminal to see if there were any messages. Seeing that there were none she sighed and leaned back against the counter. After a couple of minutes of staring blankly out the window she cast a glance over towards the bathroom. Having obviously decided on a course of action she un-tucked her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She then bent at the waist and reached over to open the fridge beside her and pull out a bottle of water. She let the shirt drop to the floor as she hopped up and sat on the edge of the counter. She opened the bottle and drank deeply in an effort to replenish some of the fluids she's sweated out.
She squiggled back on the counter and drew up her knees to her chest and hugged them. The bottle of water hung loosely from its neck in her left hand. She was staring out the window overlooking the lake. With her right hand she reached up to brush some sweat slicked hair off her forehead.
She sat up straight and took another long drink from the water bottle. Once the bottle was pressed to her lips she began to frown. Her right arm reached over the same shoulder looking for the offending itchy spot.
"Stupid itchy spandex shit…." She muttered to herself as she set down the water.
She now used her free left hand, having set down the bottle, to press down on her right elbow. She really hoped she get that extra bit of reach that would allow her to make contact with the itch.
"Arrgh, stupid bra! Obviously something invented by a man…" she continued to curse under her breath.
Presently she gave up on attacking the itch directly. In a series of motions that could in no way be described a graceful, she managed to pull the black sports bra over her head and hurled it across the room. It sailed over the counter opposite her and landed on the edge of the dining room table. She brushed her hair back off her face and hugged her knee's again.
"Stupid kid. I'm so not old," she told herself.
She continued to stare out the window.
After several moments of silent breathing she whispered. "It's not fair, I don't want to be old. I never even got a chance to be young."
She yawned and stretched out her arms. Asuka picked up the bottle of water once again and hopped down off the counter and made her way to the bathroom and the shower.
She stepped out of the bathroom through the door onto the bedroom. She was still towelling off the droplets of water that remained from the shower. She finished drying off her body then took the towel and wrapped it around her head. Standing naked in front of the closet she considered what to put on. Eventually she decided and reached into the closet and drew out a pair of red silk Chinese pyjamas.
She could seldom wear red anymore, at least not outside around other people. The effect on others tended to be… unsettling. Which was too bad since it was her favourite colour. In the privacy of her own home however she could wear whatever she wanted. Besides, wearing these pyjamas always seemed to cheer her up. Shinji had given them to her for her birthday a couple of years ago. Her and Shinji's birthday always tended to be big events, since between the three of them they only had two birthdays.
Once she had dressed herself she put the hanger back on the rung in the closet and turned around to consider the matter of the window.
"Sorry Shinji it's too hot today. I'm gonna turn the A/C back on," she said as if there was someone in the other room to hear her.
She walked around the bed and closed the window. She paused then and stared vacantly through it. She shook her head briefly the walked out of the room. She went directly to the controls mounted on the wall in the kitchen that controlled the air-conditioning system. She fiddles with the buttons and was in short order rewarded with an authoritative click. She smiled and cocked her head to the side and waited. She could hear the fan kick in the crawlspace beneath her feet.
Asuka walked into the living room and grabbed a cushion off the couch and tossed it on the floor in front of the display panel. She walked over to the screen and sat down cross-legged on the cushion. Leaning forward she reached into the shelves under the screen and withdrew a keyboard and mouse.
Asuka smiled, she always got a little pang of guilty satisfaction whenever she used the wireless keyboard, which was of course strictly prohibited. NERV security had issues with any wireless device that could be listened in on.
'As if there's someone outside logging my keystrokes,' Asuka thought to herself.
She sat the keyboard on her lap and touched the power button. The screen in front of her flickered and she was greeted with a message stating that the device was resuming for hibernation. Once the screen was back to normal she navigated through a couple of menus and launched her game.
It was an online Role Playing Game, she wasn't particularly fond of it, but considering all the paperwork and hoops she had to go through with those stupid twits in NERV Security to get permission she wasn't about to try a different game. Once into the game she spent a few moments running though her inventory, orienting herself as to what she'd been doing when she was last online. It had to have been two or three week since she'd played last so she checked her messages box for important messages. Nothing of any interest, just the usual assortment of requests to join parties, challenges, and requests for a picture of what she looked like.
Sufficiently oriented she went to a shop in the village, sold off some loot and bought some supplies. Now ready for action she moved off to the countryside looking for stuff to kill.
"Hmmmm," she said to herself. "Killing stuff and saving stupid AI villagers always cheers me up."
Bink!
A saccharine sweet tone announced to her that there was someone who wanted to chat. She frowned and clicked on the happy smiley hoping it wasn't some fanboy looking for a date.
se7enAngel Hey! Where you been?
RedDevil++ Hey yourself J been a little busy in RL. Just stuff. Haven't felt like playing for a while.
se7enAngel 's cool. It's nice to have a real life once in a while.
RedDevil++ So what'd I miss?
se7enAngel In here? SFA. I don't know why I still play, there's so many better worlds out there. But …….. Anyway in RL I think I'm gonna move in with my man. J J J
RedDevil++ :O Really? Wow. That's a big step.
RedDevil++ Are you sure?
se7enAngel Yes it is. And yes I am. We've actually been talking about it for a couple of months now.
RedDevil++ So your place , his place or new?
se7enAngel New. His place sux!! LJ
RedDevil++ LOL
se7enAngel And mine is too small. Hey what about your man? Any progress ;)
RedDevil++ Not really. And he's NOT My man! :/
se7enAngel J Chill honey, just askn.
RedDevil++ Mmmm sorry bad day. I just logged in 'cause I wanted to kill some stuff.
se7enAngel Cool if you don't want to talk that's okay.
RedDevil++ no no, it's ok. It's just complicated with us, ya know.
se7enAngel Complicated how? You love him don't you?
RedDevil++ Well ya but….
se7enAngel But what? Does he know? Have you told him?
RedDevil++ He knows
se7enAngel But have you told him
RedDevil++ I don't need to, he knows
se7enAngel Whatever
se7enAngel I think you need to tell him. He need to hear if from you to be real.
se7enAngel Does he love you?
RedDevil++ ………………Ya
se7enAngel Has HE told YOU?
RedDevil++ mmm well no, not really. I mean I know he does, just the things he does and stuff.
se7enAngel see where I'm with this?
RedDevil++ ya but it's complicated. L
se7enAngel how
RedDevil++ There's another person involved
se7enAngel What? You idiot!!!! L
se7enAngel You never told me he was seeing someone else. I never would have encouraged you. Tell me he's not married!
RedDevil++ No it's not like that at all!!!!! It's a friend of both of ours, she's well………… important to both of us and if we…… well it could be bad. L L
se7enAngel Oh ok. You scared me there.
RedDevil++ Sorry J
se7enAngel Is she a good friend?
RedDevil++ ya
se7enAngel Well if she's a good friend she'll understand. You're all adults.
RedDevil++, she's the one I told you about before, kinda strange. Helped me a lot when I was….sick.
RedDevil++ Mmmm I don't know. If it bombed it could be REALLY bad.
se7enAngel Trust me.
se7enAngel And you have to tell him.
Se7enAngelI mean how long have you been agonizing over this? It's been at least a year you been chatting w/ me
RedDevil++ Argghh would you stop being right please.
RedDevil++ Longer than that actually
se7enAngel Think of it this way. If you spend as much time with him as you say, by not telling him you are essentially lying to him, and her (your friend), and yourself.
RedDevil++ eeep! L I never though of it that way. And I do spend a lot of time with him, we're quite literally inseparable. But I don't see how I'm really lying to him, I just not telling him.
se7enAngel Whatever. You know what I mean, and for something this important it counts as lying.
se7enAngel J listen I gotta go, ma honey's home.
RedDevil++ K later J
se7enAngel Listen come around more often K? and TELL HIM!
RedDevil++ Mmmmmm
Asuka closed the chat window and sighed. She pushed the keyboard off her lap onto the floor in front of her and cradled her head in her hands, her elbow resting on the sides of her knees.
"Arrgh!" she yelled as another tone sounded.
Without even looking at who it may be she grabbed the mouse and clicked on the 'refuse connection' button and changed her settings to 'unavailable'. She returned to her contemplative position. Her shoulders shuddered slightly. After a couple of minutes she sat up and ripped the towel off her head and threw it at the display. Her hands moved up and she pushed her fingers though her hair.
"God I hate it when she's right," she said aloud.
Asuka stretched out and leaned back on her elbows and looked intently at the ceiling. She was thinking about Seven. She'd met her shortly after she'd started playing about a year and a half ago. Initially Asuka had pretty much ignored everyone online, but at the urging of her doctor she had eventually relented and ended trying to make friends. It had actually been a bit of a trade off. One of the things Asuka had pretty much been forced to do as part of her therapy was to keep a journal. Her doctors had told her she need to talk to someone, and since she really didn't have anyone to talk to they made her keep a journal.
Asuka hated the journal. She used to write in it daily, as Shinji or Rei would ride her if she didn't, but she never really liked doing it. The thought of a permanent record of her thoughts didn't sit well with her. In any case she had successfully traded writing in the journal for 'making friends' online.
Asuka was well aware what her doctors were doing to her, or for her, depending on your point of view. She really did want to stay, 'ok', but it was really hard sometimes. The level of effort that was required to just going through the motions of daily life occasionally stretched her limits. Although it wasn't as bad now at it once was.
It had taken a long time and a lot of effort to get where she was now, and not just effort on her part either. Shinji and Rei had constantly been with her, trying to help in any way that they could. Initially she'd refused them utterly and completely. After all she certainly didn't need any help. Eventually Asuka had come to see that she did need help, yet even then she had been suspicious. Why did they want to help? Unbidden acts of kindness and selflessness were alien concepts to her in the beginning, as she had no internal frame of reference in which to consider their actions. Especially not after she'd treated them the way that she had.
She had eventually come to understand their actions, and more important the motivations behind them. Rei in particular had surprised her greatly. Asuka had always thought of Rei as a bit of a freak. This characterization had been based on her obviously skewed point of view at the time. Rei's total dedication to the task at hand, and what appeared to be her complete ignorance of things happening around her. Asuka had eventually come to admire, grudgingly thought, Rei's dedication and ability to place the well being of others before her own. That and the simple fact that Rei never did or said anything by accident. Her every action or word was carefully considered beforehand. This confused Asuka greatly since she had been privy to Rei's internal thought process.
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep," the display sounded.
Asuka moved her gaze from the ceiling downwards slightly irritated and a little confused. She then realized that she let her leg rest atop the keyboard, which was now complaining about the random input it was receiving. She leaned back further and lifted her legs, then swept one foot sideways sending the confused keyboard on a journey to the other side of the living room. Her eyes returned to their resting place on the ceiling.
An indeterminate amount of time passed and she sat up. She grabbed the mouse and started an offline message for Seven. Without moving from the position he was in she leaned to her right and stretched out to grasp the keyboard. Successful in her endeavour she returned to her previously attentive position with the keyboard on her lap.
She wrote:
"Hey,
Congratulations again on your moving in with your honey. Sorry if I seemed a little off, I really did have a bad day.
On the topic of my seriously messed up life, I guess you are right. Not that that should be surprising. I will tell him. I don't know how or when, but I will. I probably won't do it soon thought. In fact I kinda want to discuss it with the 3rd friend. I you think this is a really bad idea let me know.
On a completely different matter, do you ever get the feeling that something really bad is about to happen? Nothing specific just something unsettling. I'm probably imagining things but since I tell you everything else I thought I'd ask.
The last couple of days I've been really on edge, constantly looking over my shoulder and stuff. I'm not sure if this is because of my 'bad mood' or if my 'bad mood' is causing it. Anyway it's weird.
I will try and get online more often, promise.
RedDevil++
Asuka hit the send button without reviewing what she'd read for fear that she might not send it. She tapped the power key and tucked the keyboard and mouse back under the panel. She considered the blank screen for a moment then got up and headed for bed.
"Stupid air conditioner better be working." She grumbled as walked toward the bedroom.
+++
Misato dropped her keys just as the door to her apartment swung open. She just looked down and glared at them, as if she was expecting an apology. Sensing that there would be none she shifted the bag of take out into her left hand that was also holding her briefcase and bent at the knees and scooped up the keys.
She walked into the apartment and kicked the door shut with an obviously well practiced motion. A couple more steps down the hallway and she was within in range of the dining room table. The keys were suddenly airborne following a ballistic arc that would place the right in the centre of the table. The keys hit the surface with the expected metal clattering noise and slid for a couple of centimetres until they hit the stack of paper, which impeded and further motion.
She looked at the table, and then looked at the coffee table in front of the television. She kept walking through the dining room and around the couch. She set the bag of Chinese Take-Out on the table tonight was General Dao's Chicken night. She bent over and hit the power button on the remote and the television immediately flickered to life. She watched absently as she removed her jacket and kicked off her shoes.
She moved off towards her bedroom to change. Misato emerged sometime later wearing a loose wrap around skirt that was short enough that it might have passed for a belt, and cut off halter top that was just long enough to cover the bottom of her bra. She headed directly for the kitchen. From the living room the sound of the fridge door opening could be heard. Misato appeared in the doorway from the kitchen with a can of beer in each hand. She stopped.
She was looking at the telephone that was sitting by itself on a table to the right of her. She took a step towards it and peered at it intently. The message indicator was definitely not lit up. She transferred the can in her right hand to her left and then reached out towards the phone. Then she stopped, her fingers positioned just above the handset.
"Now why would I want to do that?" she asked of herself.
Still she paused, looking at the phone and not moving. She looked down at the beer in her hand, then back to the phone.
"Whatever. He's probably not home."
She took one of the cans from her right hand and popped the top. She drank deeply and burped with a slightly guilty smile. She then stepped over the back of the couch and sat down in front of her food.
+++
UN counsellor Allan James was in his office. He used to like getting in early, but now it was just habit, and he was getting old. His staff was used to it though, his Executive Assistant for instance. Very efficient young man, almost like an English butler, he anticipated the counsellor just enough to be appreciated, and stopped just short of being intrusive.
James sipped at his coffee and looked at the stack of paper on his desk. He was still a bit groggy from the late night teleconference of the previous evening. His EA was hovering just to his left.
"Michael, which of these are important?" he asked, motioning to the stack of files.
The assistant replied, "The one on top sir is the Climatalogical Study you've been expecting."
James set his coffee down, and reached out to touch the cover of the document that lay on top of the stack. It wasn't a very thick report considering the nature of its contents and that worried him slightly. The people who wrote papers like these were usually very thorough types, the types who wore white lab coats and had bad haircuts.
"It doesn't look very thick." James said.
"No Sir that is the Executive Summary, the full report is on disk inside. The full report is 2800 pages. I did not think that you would read it right away, nor would you want me to print out such materials," Michael responded.
James put his hand that he had reached out with back in his lap. He waited for a moment then spoke.
"Have you read it?" James asked of him.
"Yes sir," Michael stated.
"And?"
"The original study seems to have been correct, though a little conservative on the timeline. We have approximately 200 years." Michael related.
James grunted not having words capable of conveying his disgust. He was expecting no less but he was still furious at the mess he had inherited for his predecessors.
'Greedy old bastards,' he thought to himself.
"Does the report make recommendations on a course of action?" he asked since he really didn't want to read even the summary.
"Nothing specific Sir. They present the same three options, domes, Terra-forming, and off-world colonies. Although they do point out that the probable success of a Terra-forming effort is considerably lower than the other options. It does however have great visibility when the time comes," Michael stated, paraphrasing.
"I see." James said pausing, "Have the authors divided and reassigned, and give them the general idea what will happen if they leak their findings before I'm ready to release them. For that matter if you would please forget what you yourself have Michael."
"Of course Sir," Michael said. "May I get you anything else right now Sir?"
James looked at his coffee, thinking then spoke, "No Michael that will be all thank you."
"Sir," Michael said as he turned to leave.
Michael made absolutely no noise as he left the room, which was no small feat with the squeaky hardwood floors. James watched the door close and he was alone with his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair.
"200 years and the surface won't be self-sustaining," he said aloud to no one.
Notes to Self and Passers By:
Whew, took my time getting that out didn't I? Well in my defence I am; lazy, I wrote "First Name Basis" for the WAFF contest, I'm pre-reading for a couple of people, and I'm helping out on EFO. Anyway I hope you liked this third part. This finishes up on the introduction of the Children and in the next chapter things are really going to get interesting. Big, big thanks to the people that helped me out by pre-reading, namely; Weltall Elite, Chesed, Blue Taboo and Slicknfly. Comments and Criticism are welcome. THX, Ghola
And ambitions are low
And the resentment rides high
But emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways
Taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Why is the bedroom so cold
Turned away on your side?
Is my timing that flawed
Are my feelings so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal
That we've kept through our lives
Love, love will tear up apart again
Need to cry out in you sleep
All my feelings expose?
Yet there's a taste in my mouth
As desperation takes hold
Yeah that something so good
Just can't function no more?
But love, love will tear up apart again.
Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division.
It was late in the day as Kensuke approached the apartment building. Not quite dusk, it was probably an hour to sunset, but the shadows were getting really long. He was approaching from the east so he was well within the shadow cast by the massive concrete monolith. Tokyo-3 may be a new city full of modern convenience, but some of the buildings were just plain ugly, warehouses for people. Kensuke occasionally amused himself by giving buildings that he disliked by giving them his own names him his own names, this particular building he occasionally referred to as 'the Warrens'. He pulled into a parking space that was identified as belonging to Visitor.
The door chime sounded. Toji scooped up the wriggling little creature that lay on the changing table before him and made his way to the door.
"Ya?" he inquired of the device mounted on the wall beside the door.
"It's Ken, Whatcha doing?" Kensuke's voice was emitted from the plastic grill of the intercom.
Toji suddenly dodged his head to the right to avoid a drool-covered finger that was attempting to plant itself in his left eye. Following that he shifted his burden to his right arm and used his left to unlock and open the door.
"Hey buddy, come on in," Toji said as he turned and readjusted the now squealing bundle of joy.
"I was just putting Koi down for the night. Why don't you grab some beers out of the fridge and I'll meet you on the balcony in a couple of minutes."
Toji had moved out of the hallway and into the main living area to allow Kensuke room to get in and close the door. Koi managed to wriggle around so that she too was facing Kensuke.
"Say hello to Uncle Ken now Koi," Toji prompted his daughter.
Koi emitted more high-pitched squealing.
Kensuke having closed the door turned and looked at Koi. After a second or two he stood up straight and leaned back slightly. He raised one eyebrow for dramatic effect and in his best over dramatized 1960's spy voice spoke.
"Hello Koi," as if he was addressing his arch-nemesis.
Koi immediately responded with more squealing and clapping even.
Toji chuckled to himself as he started edging off towards the baby's room.
"I'll meet you outside then?" Kensuke confirmed.
"Yup, gimmie a couple of minutes," Toji's replied.
Kensuke turned to his right and headed onto the kitchen. Looked around briefly then opened the fridge. He reached in a grabbed two cans of beer then stood up and let the fridge door swing shut on under its own weight. The cans immediately began to sweat, the humidity in the small apartment being what it was. He shifted one of the cans to his other hand and made his way to the balcony.
He sat down in one of the chairs and looked out over the west end of the city. The setting sun painted to roofs of the buildings red. The sunsets weren't as red as he remembered from his childhood; mind you there was still a lot of dust in the air from the Second Impact. Say what you will but the particulates did make for some spectacular sunsets. After a couple of moments the screen door sliding open interrupted his thoughts.
"So how ya been?" Toji asked as he stepped out onto the balcony.
"Not too bad, kind of a weird day at work though," Kensuke replied still fixated on the view.
Toji picked up the can of beer off the table that sat between the two chairs and replaced it with the baby monitor, through which they could both hear a sleepy sounding gurgling.
Toji popped the tab on his can and held it out at Kensuke.
"Cheers," he said.
Kensuke sat up and tapped his can against Toji's.
"Cheers," Kensuke replied.
They took generous mouthfuls from their cans. Kensuke slouched back in his chair, then promptly set down his can and stood up.
Toji took a step to the end of the balcony and turned to face the apartment, leaning against the railing.
"Just come from work?" Toji asked.
"Mmm," Kensuke returned as he took off his suit jacket and sat back down, "Hikari working late again?"
"Ya, saving the world from E. Coli again."
Kensuke looked up a Toji with a slightly puzzled expression.
"No that's not what she tells me," Toji continued, anticipating Kensuske's question. "I know exactly what she does."
Toji winced slightly, knowing he probably shouldn't have said that.
"Really?" Kensuke smiled and raised his eyebrow. "So how much do you know?"
"Dammit you know I didn't mean to say that. Don't get her in trouble now dumbass," Toji said quickly.
Kensuke smiled again, "Relax what ever she tells you in bed is none of my business. Serious though, and without being specific, how much do you know?"
"Probably more than you do." Toji smiled as he spoke, "Now cut it out with your 'advanced' interrogation tricks."
Kensuke face turned to a thoughtful look; he realized that with a little prodding in the right directions he could probably get Toji to tell him all that he knew. However Toji knew that as well and was basically just asked him not to.
Instead of speaking Kensuke just looked up at his friend, who was still standing, and nodded. He then looked back out over the city. The sun was sinking rapidly now. That perception of acceleration as the sun got nearer the horizon was in full effect. In another couple of minutes they would loose the sun entirely as even now its edge was almost touching the ridges of the mountains to the west of the city.
"Any plans for the weekend yet?" Toji asked, obviously changing the subject.
Kensuke grunted and after a moment spoke, "Not yet. You?"
"Nope."
They sat in silence as good friends who understand each other are wont to do.
"I was thinking about Shinji this morning. We should head up to the cabin and go fishing. We haven't seen him in a while, well any of them actually." Kensuke said breaking the silence.
Toji's face brightened momentarily then relaxed, "That'd be cool but it's hard to predict Hikari's schedule, Koi and all. May we could get him to come into the city. They haven't done that in a while either," Toji replied.
Toji chose this moment to move away from the railing and take a seat on the other side of the table from Kensuke. The both looked out over the city as the sun slow sank.
Kensuke returned, "Well I don't know. Remember what happened last time they came in and we all went out?"
Kensuke waited and smiled wondering how long it would take until Toji would remembered the event he was thinking about.
Toji laughed suddenly. He tipped up his can and swallowed the last couple of drops.
"Want another?" he asked.
Kensuke grunted in affirmation. Toji drew open the screen door and stepped into the apartment.
"Listen to the… thing there." Toji said pointing at the remote speaker for the baby monitor.
"I am totally in control. Fear not." Kensuke said in a slightly mocking tone.
Toji closed the door after him and shook his head while rolling his eyes. Kensuke caught a glimpse of this and smiled. He then looked at the table to his left; the baby monitor was emitting a quite static that was occasionally punctuated by a little gurgle. Koi was obviously asleep now.
'I wonder if I'll ever have children,' he though to himself.
The screen door slide open again and Toji stepped back through. After he was seated again he handed a new can over to Kensuke.
"That was pretty funny that last time we all went out." Toji began, "When Shinji tried to hit on Maya."
Kensuke laughed, "That was pretty funny. Maya was so drunk she wasn't sure who it was. She was so mad the next day, though you weren't around for that."
+++
It was almost dusk as Asuka pedaled up to the cottage. She rode right up to the porch stairs before she dismounted. She stood beside her bike facing the steps and frowned slightly. Slowly she turned her head to look over her right shoulder. All she saw was the lake, misting slightly as the air cooled.
"Figures," she breathed to herself.
She shook her head then adjusted the pack she had slung across her back bringing it around to her front so the pedal wouldn't catch. With almost no effort at all since it was almost completely titanium, she picked up the bike and set the cross bar on her right shoulder and walked up onto the porch. She walked to the far end where there was a cable lock threaded though a bracket on the wall. She manoeuvred the front wheel of the bike into the bracket and the let the bike hang free. After locking the bike up she slipped her pack off and headed to the door.
One inside she casually pitched the pack onto the chair just inside the door. She placed her hands on her hips, arched her back and let out a slow sigh.
"That was almost a complete waste of time, she said aloud as if there were others around to hear her. "Stupid new kids, thinking they're all that. Just 'cause I'm 28 doesn't make me old and it certainly doesn't mean I can't Aikido your ass into the carpet."
She took a slow deep breath and consciously tried to remove the look of frustration from her face. She then kicked off her shoes and walked over to the kitchen. She glanced at the phone, then the terminal to see if there were any messages. Seeing that there were none she sighed and leaned back against the counter. After a couple of minutes of staring blankly out the window she cast a glance over towards the bathroom. Having obviously decided on a course of action she un-tucked her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She then bent at the waist and reached over to open the fridge beside her and pull out a bottle of water. She let the shirt drop to the floor as she hopped up and sat on the edge of the counter. She opened the bottle and drank deeply in an effort to replenish some of the fluids she's sweated out.
She squiggled back on the counter and drew up her knees to her chest and hugged them. The bottle of water hung loosely from its neck in her left hand. She was staring out the window overlooking the lake. With her right hand she reached up to brush some sweat slicked hair off her forehead.
She sat up straight and took another long drink from the water bottle. Once the bottle was pressed to her lips she began to frown. Her right arm reached over the same shoulder looking for the offending itchy spot.
"Stupid itchy spandex shit…." She muttered to herself as she set down the water.
She now used her free left hand, having set down the bottle, to press down on her right elbow. She really hoped she get that extra bit of reach that would allow her to make contact with the itch.
"Arrgh, stupid bra! Obviously something invented by a man…" she continued to curse under her breath.
Presently she gave up on attacking the itch directly. In a series of motions that could in no way be described a graceful, she managed to pull the black sports bra over her head and hurled it across the room. It sailed over the counter opposite her and landed on the edge of the dining room table. She brushed her hair back off her face and hugged her knee's again.
"Stupid kid. I'm so not old," she told herself.
She continued to stare out the window.
After several moments of silent breathing she whispered. "It's not fair, I don't want to be old. I never even got a chance to be young."
She yawned and stretched out her arms. Asuka picked up the bottle of water once again and hopped down off the counter and made her way to the bathroom and the shower.
She stepped out of the bathroom through the door onto the bedroom. She was still towelling off the droplets of water that remained from the shower. She finished drying off her body then took the towel and wrapped it around her head. Standing naked in front of the closet she considered what to put on. Eventually she decided and reached into the closet and drew out a pair of red silk Chinese pyjamas.
She could seldom wear red anymore, at least not outside around other people. The effect on others tended to be… unsettling. Which was too bad since it was her favourite colour. In the privacy of her own home however she could wear whatever she wanted. Besides, wearing these pyjamas always seemed to cheer her up. Shinji had given them to her for her birthday a couple of years ago. Her and Shinji's birthday always tended to be big events, since between the three of them they only had two birthdays.
Once she had dressed herself she put the hanger back on the rung in the closet and turned around to consider the matter of the window.
"Sorry Shinji it's too hot today. I'm gonna turn the A/C back on," she said as if there was someone in the other room to hear her.
She walked around the bed and closed the window. She paused then and stared vacantly through it. She shook her head briefly the walked out of the room. She went directly to the controls mounted on the wall in the kitchen that controlled the air-conditioning system. She fiddles with the buttons and was in short order rewarded with an authoritative click. She smiled and cocked her head to the side and waited. She could hear the fan kick in the crawlspace beneath her feet.
Asuka walked into the living room and grabbed a cushion off the couch and tossed it on the floor in front of the display panel. She walked over to the screen and sat down cross-legged on the cushion. Leaning forward she reached into the shelves under the screen and withdrew a keyboard and mouse.
Asuka smiled, she always got a little pang of guilty satisfaction whenever she used the wireless keyboard, which was of course strictly prohibited. NERV security had issues with any wireless device that could be listened in on.
'As if there's someone outside logging my keystrokes,' Asuka thought to herself.
She sat the keyboard on her lap and touched the power button. The screen in front of her flickered and she was greeted with a message stating that the device was resuming for hibernation. Once the screen was back to normal she navigated through a couple of menus and launched her game.
It was an online Role Playing Game, she wasn't particularly fond of it, but considering all the paperwork and hoops she had to go through with those stupid twits in NERV Security to get permission she wasn't about to try a different game. Once into the game she spent a few moments running though her inventory, orienting herself as to what she'd been doing when she was last online. It had to have been two or three week since she'd played last so she checked her messages box for important messages. Nothing of any interest, just the usual assortment of requests to join parties, challenges, and requests for a picture of what she looked like.
Sufficiently oriented she went to a shop in the village, sold off some loot and bought some supplies. Now ready for action she moved off to the countryside looking for stuff to kill.
"Hmmmm," she said to herself. "Killing stuff and saving stupid AI villagers always cheers me up."
Bink!
A saccharine sweet tone announced to her that there was someone who wanted to chat. She frowned and clicked on the happy smiley hoping it wasn't some fanboy looking for a date.
se7enAngel Hey! Where you been?
RedDevil++ Hey yourself J been a little busy in RL. Just stuff. Haven't felt like playing for a while.
se7enAngel 's cool. It's nice to have a real life once in a while.
RedDevil++ So what'd I miss?
se7enAngel In here? SFA. I don't know why I still play, there's so many better worlds out there. But …….. Anyway in RL I think I'm gonna move in with my man. J J J
RedDevil++ :O Really? Wow. That's a big step.
RedDevil++ Are you sure?
se7enAngel Yes it is. And yes I am. We've actually been talking about it for a couple of months now.
RedDevil++ So your place , his place or new?
se7enAngel New. His place sux!! LJ
RedDevil++ LOL
se7enAngel And mine is too small. Hey what about your man? Any progress ;)
RedDevil++ Not really. And he's NOT My man! :/
se7enAngel J Chill honey, just askn.
RedDevil++ Mmmm sorry bad day. I just logged in 'cause I wanted to kill some stuff.
se7enAngel Cool if you don't want to talk that's okay.
RedDevil++ no no, it's ok. It's just complicated with us, ya know.
se7enAngel Complicated how? You love him don't you?
RedDevil++ Well ya but….
se7enAngel But what? Does he know? Have you told him?
RedDevil++ He knows
se7enAngel But have you told him
RedDevil++ I don't need to, he knows
se7enAngel Whatever
se7enAngel I think you need to tell him. He need to hear if from you to be real.
se7enAngel Does he love you?
RedDevil++ ………………Ya
se7enAngel Has HE told YOU?
RedDevil++ mmm well no, not really. I mean I know he does, just the things he does and stuff.
se7enAngel see where I'm with this?
RedDevil++ ya but it's complicated. L
se7enAngel how
RedDevil++ There's another person involved
se7enAngel What? You idiot!!!! L
se7enAngel You never told me he was seeing someone else. I never would have encouraged you. Tell me he's not married!
RedDevil++ No it's not like that at all!!!!! It's a friend of both of ours, she's well………… important to both of us and if we…… well it could be bad. L L
se7enAngel Oh ok. You scared me there.
RedDevil++ Sorry J
se7enAngel Is she a good friend?
RedDevil++ ya
se7enAngel Well if she's a good friend she'll understand. You're all adults.
RedDevil++, she's the one I told you about before, kinda strange. Helped me a lot when I was….sick.
RedDevil++ Mmmm I don't know. If it bombed it could be REALLY bad.
se7enAngel Trust me.
se7enAngel And you have to tell him.
Se7enAngelI mean how long have you been agonizing over this? It's been at least a year you been chatting w/ me
RedDevil++ Argghh would you stop being right please.
RedDevil++ Longer than that actually
se7enAngel Think of it this way. If you spend as much time with him as you say, by not telling him you are essentially lying to him, and her (your friend), and yourself.
RedDevil++ eeep! L I never though of it that way. And I do spend a lot of time with him, we're quite literally inseparable. But I don't see how I'm really lying to him, I just not telling him.
se7enAngel Whatever. You know what I mean, and for something this important it counts as lying.
se7enAngel J listen I gotta go, ma honey's home.
RedDevil++ K later J
se7enAngel Listen come around more often K? and TELL HIM!
RedDevil++ Mmmmmm
Asuka closed the chat window and sighed. She pushed the keyboard off her lap onto the floor in front of her and cradled her head in her hands, her elbow resting on the sides of her knees.
"Arrgh!" she yelled as another tone sounded.
Without even looking at who it may be she grabbed the mouse and clicked on the 'refuse connection' button and changed her settings to 'unavailable'. She returned to her contemplative position. Her shoulders shuddered slightly. After a couple of minutes she sat up and ripped the towel off her head and threw it at the display. Her hands moved up and she pushed her fingers though her hair.
"God I hate it when she's right," she said aloud.
Asuka stretched out and leaned back on her elbows and looked intently at the ceiling. She was thinking about Seven. She'd met her shortly after she'd started playing about a year and a half ago. Initially Asuka had pretty much ignored everyone online, but at the urging of her doctor she had eventually relented and ended trying to make friends. It had actually been a bit of a trade off. One of the things Asuka had pretty much been forced to do as part of her therapy was to keep a journal. Her doctors had told her she need to talk to someone, and since she really didn't have anyone to talk to they made her keep a journal.
Asuka hated the journal. She used to write in it daily, as Shinji or Rei would ride her if she didn't, but she never really liked doing it. The thought of a permanent record of her thoughts didn't sit well with her. In any case she had successfully traded writing in the journal for 'making friends' online.
Asuka was well aware what her doctors were doing to her, or for her, depending on your point of view. She really did want to stay, 'ok', but it was really hard sometimes. The level of effort that was required to just going through the motions of daily life occasionally stretched her limits. Although it wasn't as bad now at it once was.
It had taken a long time and a lot of effort to get where she was now, and not just effort on her part either. Shinji and Rei had constantly been with her, trying to help in any way that they could. Initially she'd refused them utterly and completely. After all she certainly didn't need any help. Eventually Asuka had come to see that she did need help, yet even then she had been suspicious. Why did they want to help? Unbidden acts of kindness and selflessness were alien concepts to her in the beginning, as she had no internal frame of reference in which to consider their actions. Especially not after she'd treated them the way that she had.
She had eventually come to understand their actions, and more important the motivations behind them. Rei in particular had surprised her greatly. Asuka had always thought of Rei as a bit of a freak. This characterization had been based on her obviously skewed point of view at the time. Rei's total dedication to the task at hand, and what appeared to be her complete ignorance of things happening around her. Asuka had eventually come to admire, grudgingly thought, Rei's dedication and ability to place the well being of others before her own. That and the simple fact that Rei never did or said anything by accident. Her every action or word was carefully considered beforehand. This confused Asuka greatly since she had been privy to Rei's internal thought process.
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep," the display sounded.
Asuka moved her gaze from the ceiling downwards slightly irritated and a little confused. She then realized that she let her leg rest atop the keyboard, which was now complaining about the random input it was receiving. She leaned back further and lifted her legs, then swept one foot sideways sending the confused keyboard on a journey to the other side of the living room. Her eyes returned to their resting place on the ceiling.
An indeterminate amount of time passed and she sat up. She grabbed the mouse and started an offline message for Seven. Without moving from the position he was in she leaned to her right and stretched out to grasp the keyboard. Successful in her endeavour she returned to her previously attentive position with the keyboard on her lap.
She wrote:
"Hey,
Congratulations again on your moving in with your honey. Sorry if I seemed a little off, I really did have a bad day.
On the topic of my seriously messed up life, I guess you are right. Not that that should be surprising. I will tell him. I don't know how or when, but I will. I probably won't do it soon thought. In fact I kinda want to discuss it with the 3rd friend. I you think this is a really bad idea let me know.
On a completely different matter, do you ever get the feeling that something really bad is about to happen? Nothing specific just something unsettling. I'm probably imagining things but since I tell you everything else I thought I'd ask.
The last couple of days I've been really on edge, constantly looking over my shoulder and stuff. I'm not sure if this is because of my 'bad mood' or if my 'bad mood' is causing it. Anyway it's weird.
I will try and get online more often, promise.
RedDevil++
Asuka hit the send button without reviewing what she'd read for fear that she might not send it. She tapped the power key and tucked the keyboard and mouse back under the panel. She considered the blank screen for a moment then got up and headed for bed.
"Stupid air conditioner better be working." She grumbled as walked toward the bedroom.
+++
Misato dropped her keys just as the door to her apartment swung open. She just looked down and glared at them, as if she was expecting an apology. Sensing that there would be none she shifted the bag of take out into her left hand that was also holding her briefcase and bent at the knees and scooped up the keys.
She walked into the apartment and kicked the door shut with an obviously well practiced motion. A couple more steps down the hallway and she was within in range of the dining room table. The keys were suddenly airborne following a ballistic arc that would place the right in the centre of the table. The keys hit the surface with the expected metal clattering noise and slid for a couple of centimetres until they hit the stack of paper, which impeded and further motion.
She looked at the table, and then looked at the coffee table in front of the television. She kept walking through the dining room and around the couch. She set the bag of Chinese Take-Out on the table tonight was General Dao's Chicken night. She bent over and hit the power button on the remote and the television immediately flickered to life. She watched absently as she removed her jacket and kicked off her shoes.
She moved off towards her bedroom to change. Misato emerged sometime later wearing a loose wrap around skirt that was short enough that it might have passed for a belt, and cut off halter top that was just long enough to cover the bottom of her bra. She headed directly for the kitchen. From the living room the sound of the fridge door opening could be heard. Misato appeared in the doorway from the kitchen with a can of beer in each hand. She stopped.
She was looking at the telephone that was sitting by itself on a table to the right of her. She took a step towards it and peered at it intently. The message indicator was definitely not lit up. She transferred the can in her right hand to her left and then reached out towards the phone. Then she stopped, her fingers positioned just above the handset.
"Now why would I want to do that?" she asked of herself.
Still she paused, looking at the phone and not moving. She looked down at the beer in her hand, then back to the phone.
"Whatever. He's probably not home."
She took one of the cans from her right hand and popped the top. She drank deeply and burped with a slightly guilty smile. She then stepped over the back of the couch and sat down in front of her food.
+++
UN counsellor Allan James was in his office. He used to like getting in early, but now it was just habit, and he was getting old. His staff was used to it though, his Executive Assistant for instance. Very efficient young man, almost like an English butler, he anticipated the counsellor just enough to be appreciated, and stopped just short of being intrusive.
James sipped at his coffee and looked at the stack of paper on his desk. He was still a bit groggy from the late night teleconference of the previous evening. His EA was hovering just to his left.
"Michael, which of these are important?" he asked, motioning to the stack of files.
The assistant replied, "The one on top sir is the Climatalogical Study you've been expecting."
James set his coffee down, and reached out to touch the cover of the document that lay on top of the stack. It wasn't a very thick report considering the nature of its contents and that worried him slightly. The people who wrote papers like these were usually very thorough types, the types who wore white lab coats and had bad haircuts.
"It doesn't look very thick." James said.
"No Sir that is the Executive Summary, the full report is on disk inside. The full report is 2800 pages. I did not think that you would read it right away, nor would you want me to print out such materials," Michael responded.
James put his hand that he had reached out with back in his lap. He waited for a moment then spoke.
"Have you read it?" James asked of him.
"Yes sir," Michael stated.
"And?"
"The original study seems to have been correct, though a little conservative on the timeline. We have approximately 200 years." Michael related.
James grunted not having words capable of conveying his disgust. He was expecting no less but he was still furious at the mess he had inherited for his predecessors.
'Greedy old bastards,' he thought to himself.
"Does the report make recommendations on a course of action?" he asked since he really didn't want to read even the summary.
"Nothing specific Sir. They present the same three options, domes, Terra-forming, and off-world colonies. Although they do point out that the probable success of a Terra-forming effort is considerably lower than the other options. It does however have great visibility when the time comes," Michael stated, paraphrasing.
"I see." James said pausing, "Have the authors divided and reassigned, and give them the general idea what will happen if they leak their findings before I'm ready to release them. For that matter if you would please forget what you yourself have Michael."
"Of course Sir," Michael said. "May I get you anything else right now Sir?"
James looked at his coffee, thinking then spoke, "No Michael that will be all thank you."
"Sir," Michael said as he turned to leave.
Michael made absolutely no noise as he left the room, which was no small feat with the squeaky hardwood floors. James watched the door close and he was alone with his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair.
"200 years and the surface won't be self-sustaining," he said aloud to no one.
Notes to Self and Passers By:
Whew, took my time getting that out didn't I? Well in my defence I am; lazy, I wrote "First Name Basis" for the WAFF contest, I'm pre-reading for a couple of people, and I'm helping out on EFO. Anyway I hope you liked this third part. This finishes up on the introduction of the Children and in the next chapter things are really going to get interesting. Big, big thanks to the people that helped me out by pre-reading, namely; Weltall Elite, Chesed, Blue Taboo and Slicknfly. Comments and Criticism are welcome. THX, Ghola