N/A Productions' EvaMess

Second Encounter: The Truth, or Something Like it

And that in turn brings me to the second question. What right did I have to send them, knowing fully their states of mind at the time of reversion, back to a world that had caused them such pain and grief? It's only right that you should know the facts, and judge me as you see fit. But what they have been entrusted to do will never receive thanks, nor ever be known of, should they succeed. My heart goes out to those two, and I prey they find solace for the mistakes I made so long ago.

Anon, 2016

---

An observer watching the Katsuragi household might have been rightly confused upon seeing Asuka and Shinji leave the apartment at a sprint, only to return moments later at around the same pace. Also noticeable was that, while the pair had left with hands firmly grasped, they now appeared to be consciously keeping as far apart from one another as possible.

'Odd, that.' thought Mr. Quesada, as he put his binoculars away and made preparations for bed.

Asuka was clearly the one most intent on reaching the apartment, for, cardkey in hand, she strode purposefully towards the door. Every once in a while she would shoot the pursuing boy a glare of unrestrained hatred, yet he continued on unabated.

Shinji for his part was making every effort to catch up to her, and was whispering sharply whenever he came nearest to her.

"Asuka, will you listen? Asuka!"

"I'm not in the mood for this, Third Child - you can keep yourself and your perverted fantasies away from me in future!"

All further progress in the direction of the door, however, was halted as the figure of one Misato Katsuragi emerged from the apartment. Turning awkwardly around to lock the apartment door, the Major was fortunate enough to experience German rage firsthand. For as the girl in question did a 180 to convey a final passing shot at the boy frantically gesturing for her to turn around, she remained oblivious of the Major's appearance until she slammed heavily into her.

Needless to say, Misato had a word or two to impart on the incident.

"Watch where the hell you're going! I was about to go out and search for you- you'd better have a damned good explanation for this, young lady!"

Asuka faltered. The Major's opposition was unexpected, and it took her a moment to rise to the occasion in her usual manner. "Me? Why are you asking me? This is totally Shinji's fault – you always side with him!"

This was perhaps the worst answer Asuka could have given at this point, for much like the internal combustion engine, this angle of argument was the spark required to ignite all the resentments and grudges the older woman already bore against the domineering teen.

Before the crimson haired girl knew what was happening, she was pinned up against the wall of the apartments with a very pissed off military officer breathing noxious fumes down her neck.

"Shinji, it's always about Shinji, isn't it?" said Misato, her voice dangerously calm. The aforementioned teen had by this time caught up with the two of them, but could only stand and stare as Misato laid into the troublesome Child.

"I am getting so fed up with this line of bullshit, Asuka! When are you going to start taking some goddamned responsibility for your own actions?"

"Shinji-"

"I said enough! I really don't care about the party, okay? I wasn't the one to suggest it, it was your friends and his," she motioned to Shinji. "I didn't really feel all that embarrassed, but I bet that they did – being stood up by their own friends. Did you even say 'hi' before you went off to- to- just what the hell were you doing?"

"Misato, I think you're cutting her air off!" the dark haired pilot's frantic voice shook the Major out of her reverie, and she immediately let go of Asuka and took a few steps back to distance herself from the coughing girl.

This turned out to be the only lapse that Asuka needed however, for pulling herself up off of the corridor floor, she rammed her cardkey into the lock like there was no tomorrow. From there on, the sounds of her receding steps implied that she had bolted to her room.

"Misato, she just-"

"I know, okay?" the purple haired woman sighed heavily, "I had too much to drink... should have locked myself up in my room, not gone out like this. I'm... sorry, Shinji."

"It'll be okay," the young boy replied after a pause. He sat down next to her and tentatively put his arm around her back to comfort her. "Asuka- she's the strongest out of all of us. She'll get over it."

Getting to her feet, Misato considered the dark haired boy still seated on the concrete floor.

"I think I'll go over to Kaji's – see if he can cheer her up. Lord knows I won't be of much help. But first-" she pointed a finger at him accusingly, her smile fading slightly. "I want you to empty your pockets."

---

Meanwhile, Asuka was attempting to stuff as many of her possessions as possible back into their moving boxes. That she had barely moved into the apartment, and that many of the boxes still held their original contents, helped somewhat.

"Whatever the hell made me move into here in the first place anyway?" the goddess of the flame raged through a stream of bitter tears. "Crazy bitch goes schizophrenic on me, that idiotic boy's trying to arrange a date..."

She paused, considering what the male Pilot in question had said about his feelings for her, and the memorial park he'd taken her to. Where his mother wasn't buried.

This had cut deep. He was more like her than she could have imagined. Uncomfortably so.

"And he knows, somehow," she whispered through gritted teeth. Memories rattled like chains from behind the barricades she had erected throughout her heart and soul. She dismissed them.

 "He knows how mama died."

This alone warranted rejection to his offer, and she had already made up her mind to destroy whatever hopes he'd had of her admitting an attraction for him.

Yet for some reason, she simply hadn't answered. Perhaps she'd deemed him unworthy of such an answer, that he should know already how much she despised him. But for whatever reason, she'd simply walked away. And when he came running after her, he'd asked again. He'd persisted until the point at which the pair had come to the gates of the park.

At that point, Asuka had decided that enough was enough. It was a retort born out of annoyance more than anything, but the crushed look she'd received in reply – the broken spirit staring back out at her had been too much. She couldn't take it back, but she couldn't dwell on it either. And it hung there above her, like a sword ready to plunge downward at a moment's notice. If there was one thing Asuka couldn't deal with, then it was pure and unfettered guilt.

But she couldn't forget it, no matter how she tried. Her words came back to her as clearly as the mirror in front of her, and, swiftly wiping the tears from her eyes, she curled up on top of her bed sheets and fell soundly asleep. The words echoed hollowly in the small room, for she couldn't escape them, even in her dreams.

"Not if you were the last man alive."

---

"Asuka borrowed it."

So, Asuka has your cardkey, huh?" quipped Misato serenely, feeling enthused at being in command of the situation once more. "So how come you showed it to me earlier when I asked you, hmm?"

Shinji froze. "When I showed you? Oh, yeah! Uh... she took it back again!" he answered, recovering quickly.

"Oh, really? Asuka must go through your pockets a lot," replied Misato teasingly. She wasn't prepared to let this one go quite yet. "Now about what you were saying earlier-"

However, fortunately for the younger of the pair and irritatingly for the older, Shinji's phone chose to ring, cutting his guardian off with its blaring tone.

"Hello? Oh, not yet. Yeah, she went inside. I'll call you back, okay?" Shinji ended the call quickly and looked up at the woman waiting patiently next to him with a guilty expression.

"Touji needs some help with his homework... I'd better get over there."

And with that, the interrogation came to a close.

"At two in the morning?! And don't you need book for that?" said Misato quizzically, noting that her charge was in possession of nothing save the ever-present school uniform.

"No, its one of those oral things. The test is tomorrow, so he needs help right away. I'll be back later!"

And with that, he was gone. Misato stood there for a few moments considering his narrow escape, before emitting a small sigh and reaching for her mobile to inform Kaji that she was coming over.

She paused as the phone flashed up its newest entry in the address book. Just how far did she trust Shinji? Wasn't it her responsibility to know what was going on with him, what he was up to? But then, there was such a thing as invasion of privacy to consider.

---

The phone in the Suzahara household rang only twice before the caller hung up, and when Touji queried the number, it came up as an anonymous caller. Shrugging it off, he ambled back up to his room and promptly went back to sleep. He was to be woken barely an hour later by the evacuation alarm.

---

"Any change?"

"Still nothing. It seems our trip to Antarctica was delayed unnecessarily. The Tenth Angel has arrived as predicted, yet the Lance still awaits retrieval."

Shooting a glance to Ritsuko, who sat adjacent to both commander and sub-commander, Fuyutsuki coughed uncomfortably. "Could it be that by attempting to prevent a change, we are merely instigating our own failure?"

"There hasn't yet been any confirmation that these 'visitors' are those mentioned in the prophecy, nor has the Magi's analysis been completed," spoke Ritsuko carefully, typing away at the information that would soon be released to the Major and other afflicted branches.

"I'm going to need more data if there's to be any serious monitoring or investigation into this rumor. Limited access to the Scrolls, even guarded, might provide me with the information I need to set this up."

"Your request will be considered, Doctor."

"In the meantime," Fuyutsuki gestured through the door to the bridge staff - frantically tapping away at their stations in hopes of further analyzing the current threat.

"We have an Angel to deal with. I'd advise you to consort with the Major, and provide her with any information pertaining to the bombing pattern. Dismissed."

As the door swung shut behind the blonde researcher, Fuyutsuki gave a warning glance to his former pupil. His response was a short and uncharacteristic laugh.

"I don't think she poses any real threat to the security of the Scrolls, if that's your reason for concern. Her access will be both monitored and accompanied. The good doctor has already dug herself far deeper than is strictly recommended into this matter. Let her tumble and fall, that she might right herself a little better for it."

"Few reports of their activity are a good sign. However, that there has been not a sign of them since first insertion warrants concern – we need to know their intentions."

Gendo smirked from behind his hands, which were as ever entwined with one another, as are snakes about their prey. "Like us, they are subject to the natural faults that befall all humans. Humanity and mistakes run so closely together than collisions are a fact of life. They will make a mistake at some point. It many not be large or generally noticed, but it will be there."

Carefully smoothing his collar-line and pushing his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose, Nerv's commander stood and made his way to the private lift in the corner of his office.

"And in that moment, our opportunity will present itself." 

TBC

Footnotes:

Many thanks to Seranov and Rapster for their respective suggestions and pre-reading - a welcome luxury, I assure you.

Unlike most authors who would provide you with a short and pointless o-make, I can pride myself in delivering EvaMess in its original form. No real plot, Joseph Katsuragi-Kaji, and a whole lot of Eva merchandise. Part 1 of 4. Acey said to continue it. *shoots Acey* ^^

"We have to go back and fix this mess."

"What, you mean Third Impact?"

"No, no. I'm talking about this shameless merchandising - look at the socks! Look at them! Rei socks, Rei slippers, Rei T-shirts, Rei mouse-mats, Rei dolls-"

"There's irony if ever I heard it," remarked Asuka snidely.

"The list goes on and on. In any case, it is my intention to send you back to the future- the past, I mean. Your mission will be to foul up the series in such a way that the demand for such shameless merchandise will ebb. And if that fails-"

"We kill her!" exclaimed Asuka, with an enthusiasm that made the medical staff reconsider that 'mercy killing' issue that had arisen at her re-awakening.

"Err, yeah," said Joseph, edging away from her. "That should do."

"Yes," continued Asuka, with a manic gleam in her eye. "Cut her up into little pieces and put them into sacks, and then-"

"Yes, quite."

And then suddenly and inexplicably appeared before them a white mouse, and did he squeaketh and nibbleth at the air as he was hurled from it and thrust to the floor. It appeared as if out of nowhere, before running off down the corridor, its progress followed by two children and an ageing doctor.

"What the heck was that all about?"