HOW YOU REMIND ME
by Alexei Seranov
Chapter Three:
Reunion
(WARNING: Massive WAFF and totally improbable situations ahead. You've been warned.)
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
As a beat-up old Renault Alpine went flying down the highway towards Tokyo-4, it showed that the driver had been taught to drive by one Misato Kaji. Ignoring most all safety requirements, (save the seatbelt) Shinji Ikari would have been amused by the fact that he was now one of the things he feared as much as Asuka's wrath and the Angels: a reckless driver. But this did not matter to him as he went charging down the road, intent on seeing Asuka. As he drove, his mind came up with multiple scenarios as to what might happen when they meet. "I'm going to do this. I mustn't run away. I _will not_ run away. I'm coming Asuka!" He could see himself coming in, seeing her, and getting the beating/yelling-at of his life. Or she could smack him and run away. Or... she could run up to him and kiss him... 'Doubtful. She's not like that... wasn't like that... It's been six years... How much has she changed?' As Shinji pondered this, his body was on autopilot. Before he knew it, he was at the Tokyo-4 city limits. Coming back into control of his body, the young ex-pilot steered the car towards the Horaki residence. Once he reached the street Hikari lived on, he parked the junk-heap about a hundred-or-so meters from the apartment building. Shutting off the car, Shinji placed a hand on his forehead and leaned back against the seat. For a minute, he stared off into space. A young boy, wearing the same school uniform as Shinji used to, materialized in his subconscious.
"Hi..." It _was_ Shinji, simply six years younger.
"You gonna wish me luck? You know this is one of our worse fears. We are gonna have to call on every reserve we have not to go fleeing that way," the real Shinji said as he mentally thumbed behind himself.
"Uhh... umm... yea? G...good luck..." 'Yup, same old Shinji in Shinji's mind...' The real Ikari thought to himself amusedly.
"No wonder Asuka got so mad at us before. We were such a loser... Anyway, I gotta get to work. Don't make me screw up or I get the Touji in my mind to beat you up again..." Shinji's face formed a small smile, and he turned away. As he opened his eyes, once again in the car, he could have sworn he heard a slightly audible 'sorry.' Smiling some more, he got up and out of the rust-bucket and closed the door. Locking it, he began the short trek to Hikari's home. Well, his legs thought it was a short trek. His mind would have done better crossing the Sahara with a two-ton elephant strapped to his back. And the moment of truth came. He stood there, outside the door, unsure of what to do. "No turning back now. I will not run away..."
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MONTH UNKOWN, 2015
"Shinji? Can you help me with this?" Misato asked, hoping to get the house into some form of order. She may have been messy before, but Armageddon can change people.
"Sure Misato, just a second." Moving over to the side of the battered cabinet, Shinji and his only ally lifted the cabinet into place. It had been a little over a month since they had first seen each other again and they had not heard anything from Asuka in that same amount of time. They had agreed not to talk too much about those who were gone, and just try to fix what was left. Misato and Shinji had decided to find another small beach town, and fix up a few houses in it, in case others returned from what appeared to be a sea of LCL. They had finished they house they were sharing and three others in the time they had been there, but there were many others to be fixed. Doors to be put back up, furniture to fix, roofing to repair, it was all tiring work. However, the two companions needed anything they could get to take their minds off of what had happened. Returning to the chair Shinji was fixing, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There appeared to be something lying on the beach, and it kick started Shinji's urge to help. As he ran from the house, Misato gave him a curious look, and then she looked in the direction he was heading. Seeing the lump, she too took off running. Upon reaching it, she saw Shinji hovering over the person with a look of simple terror. Upon getting a look at the dark green hair and black track suit, she knew who had returned: Suzahara. "It... I…. Touji..." As Shinji trailed off, Misato gave the boy an once-over. Oddly enough, she noticed he had no signs of prosthesis, and his REAL limbs were once again attached. Smiling greatly, she grabbed Shinji by the shoulders and whispered into his ear.
"Shinji. What is that?" She asked with a glint in her eye.
"Tou... Touji's arm... TOUJI'S ARM!!!!" Shinji then went into a giddy frenzy, lifting his friend off the ground and shaking him. "Touji! Wake up! Wake up Touji!" When the boy started to stir, the smile on Shinji's face grew immensely. When his eyes opened all the way, Suzahara looked between Shinji and the girl of his dreams (well... other than a certain raven-haired class rep...), and blinked a few times in confusion.
"Ohh... I get it. I'm in heaven!" With this, the young boy lunges at Misato, attempting to kiss her. Misato jumps back quickly, and Touji ends up face-first in the sand. Chuckling despite himself, Shinji is glad to see Touji is still Touji. "Hey... wait... I'm not dead, am I?"
"You will be if you try that again Suzahara..." Misato glared at him angrily, and Shinji could only smile more.
"Sorry... Major..." Touji scratched the back of his head while maintaining a guilty smile.
"NERV is gone. It's just Misato now. Are you aware that you have your arm and leg back?" She looked at him and he suddenly stood stock-straight. He reached with his right arm for his left, and slid his left foot to the right. Upon close inspection, he found he DID have his missing limbs returned and he could use them like he could... before...
"Touji... I'm so sorry about what happened... I tried to stop it, honestly, but my father... that BASTARD... I hope he rots in hell..." Touji, attempting to comfort Shinji (and test his newly regained arm), places a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"'Ey! It ain't nothin'! I knew you wouldn't 'a' done what that monster did t' me! I could hear ya screamin' over the comm." Touji's eyes showed he was sincere, and that was all Shinji could have asked for. "Ya know, afterwards, I was mo' worried about Mari. She had an operation that day. She's th' reason I agreed to get in that ugly mother-fucker. At th' time, I was glad she was fine. But if we ev'r see that cunt-rag you call father, we will rip 'im a new asshole, yea?" Smiling, though he felt kind of sad, Touji assumed 'Stooge Position # 51,' better known as the 'I'm-gonna-kick-some-ass-pose.'
"Yea Touji. That's the plan. But for now, we have to survive..." Looking off into the horizon, Shinji got a faraway look in his eye. Misato could tell he was worried about Asuka. How long he would keep up the charade, she couldn't tell...
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
DING DONG! Pressing the doorbell, Shinji felt the wave of resolve flow through him again. He was actually going to do this. His heart was doing somersaults in his chest, his stomach was twisting itself into knots, and his more logical mind screamed at him to run. But through it all, the resolve stood like the walls Asuka keep around her heart. Hopefully, the resolve would be able to break through that wall. As the door opened to reveal Hikari, Shinji smiled at her, and mouthed 'Thank you.' She smiled back at him and nodded, before signaling him to keep quiet. Leading him to a room he'd never even known was there, she motioned with her head to the door. "That's it. I don't know what you plan on doing, but it better be good..." With that, Hikari left to give him some privacy. Looking at the door, Shinji imagined what lay behind it. All of a sudden, his resolve forced him forward. It lifted his arm, and made him knock on the door. From the other side, he heard rustling, and a few soft German curses.
"What do you want Hika...ri..." As Asuka opened the door, she slowly became speechless, looking into the deep midnight blue eyes of a handsome young man, about her age, that seemed oddly familiar. "Who are you, and what do you want?" She shot the man a withering glare, but he didn't seem affected. But when he spoke, she knew who it was.
"Hi again... Asuka..." He smiled nervously; slightly frightened by the angry glare he had received. Asuka may have been a few inches taller than the last time he had seen her, as well as what he considered a million times more beautiful, but she still seemed to have an air of confidence around her. At least she did before it imploded upon itself and she broke down crying.
"Why... why won't you just... why won't you be like every... everyone else... why won't you hate me...? Why... why Shinji? Why can't... you just let me... let me..." Asuka sobbed; causing Shinji to do the one thing he would have never had the will to do when he was younger. He took Asuka into an embrace, and allowed her to cry into his shirt. "STOP YOU BAKA! I hate you! I don't need you! I don't need anyone..." She broke down crying again, but Shinji didn't let her go. He simply turns her tear-stained face towards his, and looks her straight in her bright sapphire eyes. "Why Shinji... why you?"
"Because I care Asuka... I care a lot. I always have... I love you Asuka, no matter how you may feel about me. Hate me if you want, I'll still love you. I just wish I could have said it before." With this, he leans forwards, and places a soft kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he can see Asuka is speechless, and uses a finger to wipe away her tears. "I don't need you to reciprocate, or even care, but I just wanted you to kno-mmmMMPH!!!" Halfway through the sentence, Asuka jumps on him, smothering him in a kiss that holds all her passion and all her soul. Someone had told her they loved her, and meant it. She was so totally overjoyed that her pride didn't get a say in the matter. Someone loved her. She could be happy. And she didn't even consider that this was the boy she had tormented for nearly a year, and then simply left him alone. She tried to show all of her joy through that kiss, and Shinji sure as hell wasn't complaining. His dream had been fulfilled. He had the girl he considered the most beautiful in the universe kissing him passionately, after he had declared his love for her. It was like something out of a cheesy romance novel, but it was happening. To HIM no less. So he returned the kiss. And when they finally came up for air, they both thought the same thing at the same time. 'Wow...'
"Shinji... I'm sorry about how I've treated you all these years. Everything has just been so hard. My childhood, meeting you, fighting the Angels, the mind-rape, dying against the MP Evas... waking up on the beach with you next to me, you taking care of me, me leaving, wandering around and finding Hikari, and everything else. Shinji, my life has sucked so much, and I don't think I could ever love anyone..." The disappointed look on his face wasn't hidden well, so she finished the breath she was taking quickly "...but you. You ruined me for all men. I don't know how long, I have... but I think I love you too. Please... don't leave me again... Everyone always does... don't leave me Shinji." First shock was displayed on his face, then intense happiness, then love. He pulled Asuka into another hug, and kissed her again. This time, there was no leaping, no frenzied passion. Just love. Shinji lifted Asuka up in his arms, and took her into her room. Shinji had been right. Today was definitely an interesting day.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE/ DISCLAIMER:
EVA = Not mine... SUE AND GET NOTHING!!! /me cackles evilly. /me sics Mike to lynch all the lawyers attempting to sue him.
Sappy enough for ya? This idea came to me while talking to my friend Jay, so I thank him for helping the creativity flow. I know it is probably nothing like the Asuka we know, but consider the fact that it's been six years. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 3 of How You Remind Me. There's still more to come, so don't even think I'm done with this. Alexei Seranov is a man of his word! Happy Holidays everyone!
-Alexei
