HOW YOU REMIND ME
by Alexei Seranov
Chapter Two:
Hope against Hope
SEPTEMBER 13, 2021
'So here goes... I _*will*_ do this... I _*must*_ do this...' As one young man sat in his room, staring at his phone and his phonebook, he attempted to gather the proverbial balls to call the one person from his old life he had not seen in six years, save the girl he considered his sister and the bastard he no longer considered his father. Shinji was nervous. This was apparent. But he was an Ikari. Ikaris don't give up. 'I'll do it for you, mother...' With this, he lifts the phone from the cradle, places it to his ear, and dials the ten-digit code. One ring. Two rings. Three rings.
"Hallo?" Shinji believed his heart stopped for at least half a minute, but it was only a single beat. "Hallo? Is anyone there?" The last remaining Ikari took a deep breath, and prepared for the worst.
"...H...hello... Asuka..." 'Smooth dipstick, real smooth...' Shinji clamped his eyes shut, afraid of the tirade he knew was coming. Oddly, it didn't come.
"Sh...shi...shinji...?" She hadn't yelled, cursed at, or threatened him with violence. Her voice seemed more hurt and sad than angry. 'Could she be sorry? No! She's the "Great Asuka Langley Sohryu," she'll never apologize. She's always right, remember?' Taking a gulp, mainly to wet his dry throat, he thought of what to say.
"Yea...hi Asuka..." 'It's a start...' He had hoped he said the right thing, knowing very well she was a nuclear bomb with a faulty trigger: she could explode with the slightest nudge the wrong way. However, he did not expect what he heard. Sobbing. And it cut him deep in his soul... had he tried to make a comparison; he would realize it was exactly how he felt when Asuka was fighting the Eva Series. But the only thing he could do was try to comfort her. He was hurt inside knowing he had caused the woman he loved to cry... had he known where she lived, he would be there by now. But since he could not, he fell back on soothing words. He hoped they would help. "Asuka... everything's going to be okay. Don't cry. Don't be sad."
"NO! You _BAKA_! Look at what you've done..." The way she said the all-to-familiar-nick-name cut Shinji straight to the bone. Now his heart was pierced once again... "You made me cry over _YOU_... I swore I'd never... never cry... never again... for any...one..." With this, she broke down into sobs again.
"Asuka, please. Don't cry. You're the Great Asuka Langley! You don't cry! You're invincible... please Asuka... don't cry..." Before he knew it, Shinji was crying as well. His attempts at pacifying her had no affect, and his inner sadness came spilling forth onto his desk. As his fit subsided, he realized she was still crying. He barely noticed her mumbling through her sobs.
"Baka-Shinji... why... why did you have to push so hard... why didn't you get the hint... why did you make me... make me...?" CLICK. She had hung up. As he hung up the phone, the young man lay down on his bed, and proceeded to stare at the familiar ceiling. He wiped away the tears. He attempted to push the call out of his mind. 'Why me God?'
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 (Neo-Tokyo-4, Horaki/Sohryu Household)
As she awoke from her slumber, Asuka Langley Sohryu felt like shit. She had heard from Shinji yesterday. She had almost said something through her hysteria she would have regretted at the present time. As all her thoughts of the wimpy boy she had lived with returned, she felt the need to see him. But she threw that urge straight into solitary confinement inside her mind. She didn't need anyone. Especially not Baka-Hentai-Shinji. 'I am Asuka Langley Sohryu... I don't need him... I don't... I don't need him...' She hurt inside. When she had left him in the bombed-out building they had occupied not too far from the beach they had arrived on after the Apocalypse, she hurt so badly inside. That lone tear she had left for him was to her, the same as a river of them. He was the only one who she would cry for... and she hated that fact. She had tried so hard to keep everyone away. She didn't want to hurt herself by letting others close, then leaving. She knew if she let Shinji be near her, he would leave her. But she had left him. She had left the boy alone, knowing full well he may try to kill himself. She knew how much she meant to him. She saw how much during Instrumentality. She had felt everything he had felt. They were far too alike. Names, dates, they were changed. But each lived a life of sadness and misery before the Angels. Not that it had changed much after that, but it was better at least. But now she had a void in her soul that she could not fill. She knew Shinji was what could remedy that, but her pride would never allow it. 'Me... with that weak, spineless jerk!?!? Hah! I laugh at it... but it would be nice... No! I won't start thinking like that... He must hate me... God, I hope he does... Everyone else does, why won't he...? I don't need him... I don't... but I want him...'
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 (Neo-Kyoto-2, Kaji Household)
As a certain red-haired European girl awoke, so did a certain brown-haired Japanese boy. He too felt horrible. He was unaware that the synchronizations training from over six years ago still had a slight affect, even when they were God-only-knows how far from each other. Shinji could tell Asuka was at least still in Japan, but where was the question. Then he got an idea. He could call Hikari. He knew she had returned from the Sea of Souls, and was living in Tokyo-4. 'I'll call her. She's Asuka's best friend. She'll know where she is.' But he had to keep up appearances for the time being. As he grabbed his clothes for the day, he walked to the shower. Removing his clothes and tossing them into the basket, he stepped under the showerhead and turned on the water. Lucky for him, Kaji was always up early and enjoyed taking showers at ungodly hours, so the water was still relatively warm. After a few minutes of cleansing and all that, he stepped out, towel draped around his waist. Putting on his clothes, he walked to the kitchen, to find Kaji (no one ever called him Ryouji...) making his semi-famous pancakes; the kind every father can make. Happily sitting down (the smell keeping Shinji's mind from other, less pleasant thoughts), Shinji sat, waiting for the tasty breakfast food to be set down in front of him.
"Rough night, ne?" As Shinji looked at his adopted father, the saddening thoughts came back full-force. His smile simply disappeared. The sadness in his eyes told Kaji all he needed to hear. Shinji had done as he said he would. Of course, it had ended as Kaji had expected. Asuka had probably yelled at, berated and threaten to kill poor Shinji. That's what she had always done. "She's a tough girl to get close to. Her childhood sucked just as much as yours did. She kept up a wall to protect herself. She doesn't want anything to get near. You should know this. You were at the epicenter of the Third Impact. Lord knows, you probably know it. But you have to-" Kaji was slightly surprised to see Shinji had signaled for him to be quiet for a moment.
"Stop. Just stop Dad. I know what you're thinking, and that's not what happened. I called her. She answered. I said "Hi." She asked if it was me. I said yes. She broke down crying. Then she just hung up. I don't know what I did wrong, but I am not in the mood for advice at the moment. I have a plan, but I need to do this on my own. You and Mom have done a lot for me. Let me do for myself." As Shinji looked into his father's eyes, he saw a look of pride. He realized this is what they had wanted for him all along. They wanted him to be his own man, not to be someone else's doll. As he ate his breakfast, it was with haste. He finished, thanked his father, and ran to his room to put 'Operation Inchou" into effect. When Misato emerged from her room, she walked to Kaji and gave him a hug. She saw the look on his face, and realized what had happened. She gave him a kiss, and sat down for breakfast. Things in the Kaji Residence were going to get real hectic in a hurry.
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 (Neo-Tokyo-4, Horaki/Sohryu Household)
As the phone rang, Hikari Horaki, aged nineteen years, and quickly approaching her birthday, scrambled for the headset. Placing the appliance next to her ear, she listened for anything. "Hello, Horaki residence. How can I help you?"
"Err... Hikari, hi..." 'Damnit, I need to get better at this crap...' "Can I speak to you? Or are you busy?"
"Hi Shinji. Sure, I was just watching my niece. She can be quite the handful sometimes, ya know. What do you need?"
"It's... it's about Asuka. I was wondering if you knew where she could be. I called her last night, but there was no address with the number, and she wouldn't really talk to me." Shinji felt both embarrassed and ashamed for asking this of Hikari, but he had no other options.
"Umm... okay. Well... I kinda promised her I wouldn't tell you... I'm sorry Shinji. Well..." Hikari seemed to be debating with herself, and Shinji didn't know whether to feel let-down or just sad that she couldn't. "Maybe I could... but you don't tell her I told you, got it?" She had slipped into her old "class-representative mode" and Shinji knew it was best for his ears if he obey. However, he far too ecstatic to care at the moment.
"I won't Hikari, I swear." His voice held almost nauseating levels of optimism... he might just get to see Asuka again.
"She's been living with me and my family since we returned from the Sea of Souls. It's been almost five years now. You would be surprised how many nights I hear her crying herself to sleep. She's loved you all along, y'know. It hurts her so much to be away from you, but her pride is like those damned Mass-Produced Evas. It just won't die..." By the end, Hikari could tell Shinji was shocked speechless. When he finally regained his voice, he replied.
"R...re...really? She loves me? Are you sure? She's done nothing but insult me since the day I met her. How could she love me?" Shinji's mood was not as upbeat as he had thought it would be, but he would make due.
"Yes Shinji. I could always tell. Everyone could. You, Asuka, Aida and Touji were the only ones who couldn't see it. And even Touji had an inkling to it. Shinji, I think you should come see her. I'll buy as much time as possible. You need to get here now. This has gone on far too long. You two need to see each other. I'll see you soon. You know where I live." With that, the phone went dead. As Shinji stood, he realized there was a resolve flowing through him, like nothing he had experienced before. He was going to pack a bag and head for Tokyo-4. He grabbed a backpack and filled it with the items he would need. As he walked out, he saw Misato and Kaji smiling at him.
"Go get her..." Misato looked as if she was going to cry, and Kaji looked prouder than before.
'I'm going out. I don't know when I'm getting back. Don't do too much hentai-stuff while I'm gone. I love you both." With this, Shinji practically flew out of the room, and seconds later, the sounds of a blue Renault Alpine starting could be heard. Flooring the accelerator, Shinji sped off for Tokyo-4. It was going to be an interesting day...
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AUTHOR'S NOTES/ DISCLAIMER:
Hi again everyone. Here's Chapter Two of HYRM. I hope you enjoy it. It was written while listening to my very own "Creativity Mix" with Winamp. If you'd like a copy, send an email to SuperJew27@hotmail.com. Remember, I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Stop assuming that I do...
As I've stated, Neo Dictae Evangelion will be on hold until I finish this, and Holy Twilight Evangelion will be shelved until I see fit. Thanks for all the reviews so far, and I hope to meet your expectations! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
-Alexei
