My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Five

The car rattled down the line with a persistent beat of two seconds before the wheels sounded out. Hardly anyone was in it, with the exception of three teens and a sleeping bag lady. The old woman turned over on the seat once, opening her dark eyes to squint at the children before making a light sound and returning to her slumber. The boy sat across from the two girls, one who seemed intent on watching the inside of the tunnels as they flashed by, almost looking lonely, and the other who was swinging her legs and humming, occasionally pausing to fling her red copper hair back over her shoulder. The subway car was air-conditioned, a little too much for anyone in skirts and shirts, which is what Asuka and Hotaru happened to be in. Shinji watched from across them. The dark haired girl rubbed her knees with her hands occasionally in an attempt to keep her joints warm and not stiff. The rustle of cloth challenged the car, and lost, so Asuka started the conversation first.

"Where did you go to school before this?"

Hotaru looked up. She seemed like she was taken a bit by surprise, almost as if she expected Asuka to be talking to Shinji or the bag lady instead of herself. "Oh, I've lived in Tokyo my entire life," she said, turning her knees towards Asuka for better conversation. Asuka cocked her head to the side at the response.

"Where have you been hiding all this time?"

"In the seventh grade."

A furrowed brow appeared on Asuka. She shifted her posture so that she was also turned in an angle towards her new comrade. Her arm was lifted to the back of the car's seat as she positioned herself.

"Huh? But aren't you fourteen? Like us?"

Hotaru smiled with a nod.

"Yeah, but I was held at home for another year… due to…"

"Due to what?"

Shinji saw the hint of blush cross the fair cheeks as Asuka leaned in with the question. Hotaru's shoulders shifted back a fraction as the other took to invasion. "Just things that were happening," she said, her elbows shifting into her sides.

"So you live with your mom and dad?"

Hotaru's soft voice became a course of unsure words and pauses.

"No… my…"

Gentle had become a splurge forth of tongue flicking across teeth.

"Father and my…"

She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. When she opened the violet orbs once again, her voice had regained the smooth tone from before.

"My family died in the Second Impact. I live alone."

Asuka accepted it and pulled away with a small frown, as if Hotaru hadn't been interesting enough, and took her eyes to Shinji. "Yeah, Shinji and me live without parents too, but Misato's our guardian, so we never have any fun anyway," she said, whine apparent in her voice.

"But…"

Asuka flicked her eyes to Hotaru's gentle voice. The girl was smiling softly.

"But you have someone, don't you?"

She stared at her a moment before averting her gaze. "Yeah, I guess…" she mumbled. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her interrogation of Hotaru fell short, and she looked the other way. She pulled her legs back, crossing them at the ankles, then letting her arms return to her sides.

Violet eyes met Shinji's and startled his skin, making him jump and let out a small nervous sound. They blinked behind dark lashes, and then left him, staring again at the dark insides of the subway tunnel or, perhaps, her reflection on the car's window.

The car became silent.

School was out, and students dotted the sidewalks. The trees that lined them offered little shade against the sun. The three teenagers walked together, though, one of them glancing up at the sky with the slightest evidence of a nervous frown.

"How far are we from the apartment?" Hotaru asked.

"Not far," Shinji said and pointed to a place somewhere along the line of apartments that seemed to stretch into infinity. Hotaru's fingers pulled at the sides of her sea green skirt. Her knuckles ached for pockets to shove themselves in. Her fingers slid across the cotton fabric as if she could actually thrust them into pockets and hide her hands. She looked up at the two other pilots. Their rhythm of step wasn't letting up, and she could feel the sun begin to heat her light skin. If she stayed out much longer, she would turn pink on her face and lower arms, creating an embarrassing tan pattern, if she happened to gain any color from it at all. She wondered how Rei dealt with it.

The elevator doors opened on a new floor. They all stepped from the steel chamber and onto the tile.

The door was labeled M. Katsuragi.

Shinji opened it.

"Make yourself at home," Shinji said as he pulled his feet out of his shoes. Hotaru mumbled a reply as she struggled a little with hers. Her eyes wandered the walls and floor, trying to become familiar with the apartment instead of tripping in strangeness.

"Misato?" Shinji called out to the rooms, "Are you home?"

No reply came. "Guess not…" he mumbled. He smiled at Hotaru.

"Welcome."

Eh… you can tell where my creativity began to bomb.