Author's Note: Before you read this fan-fic, check my last one, The Last
Gift She Expected. See that note up the top of every chapter? That bit
that says "I do not own Gainax or any of its creations"? You don't? Ah
well...anyway, I didn't then, and since then I haven't suddenly inherited a
small mint, so I don't now, either.
Where Am I, Chapter 7 - Distrust : True Colors of NERV
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"Hi...This is Kaji...I'm out right now, but you can leave a name and message after the beep."
Asuka heard the tone, signifying that Kaji's message machine was ready to take a message. And what a message it was...
"AAAAAAGH! HELP ME KAJI!!!" Asuka wailed, "Don't touch me you pervert! AAAAAAGH!"
Asuka pushed the "End Call" button on her cell phone, and placed it in her pocket. "That should get his attention," she told herself.
Hikari looked in on Asuka from the classroom. "What was all that about?"
Asuka leaned against the wall. "I was just calling Kaji," she lamented, "I wanted him to take me out tomorrow night. I've been calling him and calling him, but he's always out doing something..."
Hikari brightened up. "You mean you'll be free tomorrow?"
"Unfortunately, it seems so..."
"Great! I've got a favour to ask you..."
Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Rei was wringing a cloth free into a bucket. Cyan was busy clapping dusters, while Toji was mopping the floor. Shinji was supposed to be dusting, but something about Rei caught his eye...
[The way she wrings that cloth...it's familiar...] A mop connecting with his face shattered his daydream.
"Hey!" Toji shouted, snapping Shinji out of his delusions, "Get back to your work!"
"Agh! Sorry!" Shinji sounded aggravated. At this time, Hikari walked back in.
"How about you getting back to your work, Suzuhara!?" she scolded.
"Yeah, sure..." Toji said, lowering his mop back to the floor. Cyan stifled a laugh.
"What's so funny, Sixth Child!?" Toji shouted across the room.
"Christ, Toji, you're so henpecked," Cyan said, grinning from ear to ear, "You got the hots for our class rep, huh?"
"Cut it out!" Toji swung the mop at Cyan, who easily danced away.
"First Misato, now Hikari," Cyan taunted, "You gotta thing for chicks in authority?"
Toji blew his top, throwing the mop at Cyan as if it were a spear. Completely to everyone's surprise (even Cyan's), he spun out of the way, caught the mop, and used the momentum to spin it around into his other hand, now clasping it with both hands. Cyan looked at the mop, suddenly in his hands.
"How in hell did you do that?" Asuka asked from the door, observing Cyan's actions from the corridor.
"You tell me," Cyan said quietly. The school bell interrupted all, and the students packed up all items and left.
Shinji, Cyan and Asuka were happy to go home, until Rei approached them.
"We have sync tests," she said quietly, we must go to NERV headquarters." She walked on, oblivious to the three other kids swearing behind her.
--------------------
"Tomorrow..." Shinji said quietly to himself in the elevator. Sync tests went for longer than expected, and it would be dark before they all got home. He had managed to catch the elevator before Rei could take it down by herself like she usually did.
"Tomorrow I have to go see my father," he reminded himself, loud enough for Rei to hear. "What should I talk about, Rei?"
"I don't understand," Rei said in her usual quiet manner, "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, you seem to be closer to him than me," Shinji reasoned, "You seem to enjoy talking to him..."
Rei stayed silent. "Say, what's my father like, anyway?"
"I don't know." Shinji looked down. It was Rei's turn to ask a question. "Have you been watching me because you wanted to ask me that question?"
"Um, yeah..." Shinji was reminded of something he saw earlier. "Hey, before, when we were cleaning up, that cloth, um, the way you wringed it...it reminded me of a mother..."
"Um..." Rei wasn't sure how to respond. She felt blood rush to her face...
Shinji laughed nervously. "I'm sure you'd make a great mother, Rei!"
Rei didn't turn, so as not to show Shinji her red face. "You...embarrass me."
---------------------
Later on, Misato finally got home. "I'm home!" she called out.
"Hey, Misato," Cyan called out.
"How's it hangin'?" Asuka added.
Misato walked in to the lounge room, and saw Cyan laying face down watching TV, Asuka preferring to watch it upside-down, laying on her back, with a packet of chips cradled on her stomach.
"You should go to bed, Asuka," Misato recommended, "Don't you have a date tomorrow?"
"Some med student," Asuka confirmed, "Hikari set me up with him...oh, Misato! Can I borrow your lavender perfume?"
"Hey, that stuff's not for kids!" Misato scolded as she changed tops in her room. "Hey, where's Shinji?"
"In his room, ever since he got home," Cyan said, still watching the television.
"I don't think he wants to meet his father. If he hates him so much, why doesn't he just say?"
"That's the problem," Misato sighed, "he doesn't actually hate him...Cyan, maybe you can go talk to him?"
"Me?" Cyan sat up. "I barely know him..."
"He looks up to you, kid," Misato smiled, "You're like the big brother he never had..."
Cyan shrugged, and walked to Shinji's room. He knocked.
"Is that you, Misato?" he heard Shinji call out.
"I'm flattered, but no."
"Oh, Cyan! Sorry..."
The door opened. "Don't forget what I said, Shinji."
"Oh, sor..." Shinji cut himself short.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure," Shinji said, letting Cyan in. Cyan walked in, and took a seat at the foot of Shinji's bed.
"Going to see your father again, huh?" Cyan said, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Yeah..." Shinji wasn't very talkative.
"I...take it you guys don't get along..."
Shinji's face screwed up in anger, a side of him Cyan hadn't seen too regularly. "I hate him. He abandoned me when I was three...and the one time he calls me to him, he wants me to pilot the Eva..."
Cyan took all this in, and understood. "Don't worry...it's okay to hate other people, even if they are your parents. I didn't get along with my father either. He was my complete opposite, and he never understood anything I did. But...I didn't just shut him off. I kept in touch with him, to help me understand him more. That's why it's important to talk to him..."
Shinji looked up as Cyan continued. "You have to confront him. Don't let him walk all over you like this..."
"That's not what I'm worried about..." Shinji confessed. "I'm seeing my mother too..."
"Really?" Cyan asked, oblivious, "What's she like? Better than your dad?"
"I never...knew her..."
Cyan knew exactly what he meant. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry..."
"Practice what you preach, Cyan."
Cyan looked up, surprised by Shinji's sudden display of wit. "Smart-ass," he grinned.
Cyan got up, and walked out of the room. He paused at the door. "Listen," he said to Shinji, "If you ever need someone to talk to...I'm...there, alright?"
Shinji smiled. "Thanks, Cyan. I know how hard it must be for you. You don't seem to be the brotherly type..."
Cyan laughed, and closed the door behind him. Misato was waiting for him.
"Good job, Cyan," Misato thanked him.
"No sweat." Cyan was about to walk away, when Misato stopped her.
"I've got one more thing to ask," Misato requested, "I'm going to a wedding tomorrow night..."
"You want me to babysit?" Cyan finished. Asuka heard this.
"Hey, I resent that!" she whined, "We don't need a babysitter!"
"Okay, think of him as a bodyguard," Misato said, before leaving for her room once more. "I'm going to bed, and so are you guys."
"Good night, Misato," Cyan said, watching his host's bedroom door shut, before turning to Asuka. "Good night, Asuka."
Asuka got the hint. "Alright, I'm going..."
-----------------
Shinji knelt in front of the gravesite, examining the tombstone and its engravings. He knew what was written on it. It read "YUI IKARI, 1977 - 2004". The howl of wind went on overhead, echoed by the desolateness of the cemetery.
"It's been three years, since we were last here..." Shinji heard his father say.
"That's when I ran away," Shinji commented, "I haven't come back here since...I just don't believe that my mom's resting here...I don't even remember her face..."
"Burying memories is Man's way of surviving," Gendo told his son, "But there are some things a man should never forget. Yui taught me that one, irreplaceable thing, Shinji. That is the reason I come here, to confirm that commitment."
Shinji exhaled heavily. "You don't have a picture of her?"
"No photographs. Even this grave is an artifice. Nothing remains."
"It's like my teacher says...you cast everything away..."
"I keep my memories in my heart," Gendo concluded, "I'm satisfied with that..."
The roar of a plane touching down nearby filled the air. "Our time is up. I'm leaving now." Gendo began to walk to the plane. Shinji looked up at his father as he stood up.
"Father!" he cried out, "I'm glad we could talk today..."
Gendo turned, just as he was about to enter the plane. "Indeed..."
-------------------
Shinji got home earlier than expected. Now it was time to pay his own tribute. He retrieved his cello from his room, and set up in the kitchen. After a few seconds, the first few chords to "Ode to Joy" flowed throughout the apartment block. Every note he played made him think of the mother he never really had...the mother he never knew... [No one else I know went through the same kind of life I've had...or have they?]
When the final note echoed through the house, he heard two sets of hands applaud him from behind. Turning around, he saw Cyan and Asuka.
"That was very nice, Shinji," Asuka complimented, "I didn't know you played."
"I started when I was five," Shinji said brightly, as Asuka collapsed in her room, while Cyan went to the couch, "but I'm still not that good..."
No one noticed Pen Pen poke his head out of his fridge, while the conversation continued. "Well, just stick to it, Shinji," Cyan encouraged, before turning to Asuka. "You're home early, aren't you? Didn't you have a date?"
"Yeah, but he was more boring that Shinji, so while he was in line for the roller coaster I took a train back here."
Shinji was astonished. "That's a little cold, isn't it?"
Asuka sighed, the strain of a lost love in her voice. "Kaji's the only real man in my life..."
-----------------
"Right...yeah, sure, Misato...bye." Cyan hung up his mobile as Asuka walked out of her room.
"Was that Misato?" she asked.
"Yep," Cyan answered, "She's gonna be late home, so don't wait up..."
"What!? You mean she won't be back till tomorrow morning?"
Shinji turned to Asuka. "I doubt it. She's going out with Kaji..."
"You idiot! That guarantees it!" Asuka ranted.
Sure enough, five hours went by, and still no Misato. Cyan was still getting around the use of chopsticks, while Asuka had laid her head on the table, rapping her fingers against said table.
"Hey Shinji," she said for no apparent reason, "you wanna kiss me?"
Shinji looked at Asuka, taking out his earphones. "Huh? What!?"
"You know, kissing. Have you done it before?" Shinji nodded dumbly. "So let's do it."
"But...why?"
"I've got nothing better to do," Asuka reasoned.
"That's your reason? Um...you're weird..." Shinji muttered.
Asuka lifted her head, smirking. "What's the matter? Afraid your mother's watching you from heaven?" she taunted.
"No, that's not it..." Shinji complained.
"Or are you scared?" she continued to taunt the Third Child mercilessly.
"I'm not afraid!" Shinji said angrily, standing up. "Pucker up!"
Asuka grinned devilishly. "Mmm...not interested any more." She said as she stood up and walked away to the lounge room. Cyan, having given up on chopsticks, was on the couch watching television, and thus didn't have any idea what was going on. Asuka walked in front of him, and before he could complain about her being in his way, she pounced on Cyan, planting her lips on his, making pleased sounding noises. Cyan fell back in surprise, pashing back for a few seconds, before Asuka stood up again, and assessed the situation.
"Mmm...Not bad, Cyan!" she smiled as she walked to the bathroom, "I could get used to that!"
Cyan stared at the Second Child as if she'd grown a second head as she closed the door behind her. Cyan looked back at Shinji, whose eyes were bulging, blood beginning to trickle down his upper lip.
"Could get used to that," Cyan laughed, as he lay back on the couch in sheer disbelief at the passing events. Shinji didn't know what the hell to think...
----------------
Kaji was straining under the weight of Misato, but there was no way he was going to let on. "Drinking until you throw up," Kaji said, in a rather unimpressed tone, "How old are you?"
Misato could only barely manage to slur her reply: "Old enough to regret it..."
"So am I..." Kaji said, ignoring Misato's wise-crack "You're damn right!".
Misato's arms were under Kaji's chin, and thus they were getting considerably itchy. "You need to shave your...uh...sloppy face...I can walk now..."
Kaji set the woman down, and she began to walk alongside her old flame. After a short while of silence, she spoke again.
"Kaji, d'you think I've changed?"
"You're even prettier."
Misato chuckled, despite her state. "That's not what I meant..."
Silence. Misato continued. "When I told you there was someone else...you knew it wasn't true, didn't you?"
Kaji was slightly taken aback, but it didn't show on his face. "No..."
"I'd realised how much like my father you were...and I panicked...I couldn't believe I wanted a man just like my father...I was terrified, so I ran..."
Kaji was looking at the Major with what could be seen as contempt as Misato continued. "I was afraid of becoming a woman, afraid of being with you, and I thought I hated my father, but I fell in love with someone just like him...
"I thought joining NERV was a way for me to sever those ties, but it turned out that my father worked for them too...so I tried to bury it all by swearing vengeance against the Angels..."
Misato stopped walking, and Kaji turned to face her. "Choosing that path was your decision. You don't have to apologise to anyone!"
"Don't bullshit me, Kaji!" Misato hissed drunkenly, "I just turned tail and ran...it was just an escape from the real world and my father...hell, I'm no better than Shinji is! I'm a coward, Kaji...it's just like right now, I had to get up the nerve to get so falling-down drunk enough to even tell you the truth!"
Kaji wouldn't stand for much more of this. "That's enough!"
Misato continued her tirade, through sobs of depression. "I'm a child...I've no right to be Shinji's guardian, or Asuka's, hell, or Cyan's! Look at me, so afraid to accept a helping hand from a man unless I'm so shitfaced that I don't even know what I'm doing!"
"Enough, Misato! Cut it out!" Kaji was getting impatient.
"I'm pathetic, I'm a child, Kaji! I'd use you! I'm just so - agh!" Misato gasped as Kaji closed his mouth over hers, effectively shutting her up. Misato was paralysed with shock for a brief moment, letting out muffled cries of protest, eventually surrendering to Kaji's embrace. As she calmed down, her hands let her high heels slip to the ground...
--------------------
"Um, Cyan?" Asuka walked into the lounge room, a little inhibitedly, "Are you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm awake..." Cyan curled his legs up, to partake in what was turning out to be a sort of nightly tradition: a couch-side chat with the Second Child.
"Um...about earlier..."
"I know. I can think of three reasons why you did what you did...One, living with two boys for this long, at your age, well that explains itself..."
"Just what do you mean by that!?"
Cyan ignored her. "Two, you've never been kissed before, and you just wanted to know what it was like...which I highly doubt...or three," he added with a chuckle, "you just want to make Shinji jealous." Asuka turned a shade of pink at the thought. "None of which I expect anything more from."
Asuka looked at Cyan in surprise. "Huh?"
"It's my long way about saying 'let's just be friends'," Cyan smiled.
"You really are different..." Asuka smiled back. "Thanks for understanding, Cyan. At least you're more sensible than the Stooges..."
"Shinji ain't so bad," Cyan defended his 'brother', "Those other two...God, you don't want to know what that brat Kensuke's got on his hard drive..."
This got Asuka's attention, for all the wrong reasons. "What?" she growled.
"Don't worry, it's all been taken care of..."
----------------
Kensuke double clicked on a familiar folder entitled "Schoolgirls changeroom pics", expecting to find the 200 megabytes of images taken from (you guessed it) the school change rooms.
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL!?" The otaku adjusted his glasses to ensure he saw the blank window correctly, "WHO IN FUCK DELETED ALL MY POR..." Kensuke remembered that his father was in the next room. "...er...study notes..!?"
---------------
Before Asuka could say anything else, the front door opened, revealing Kaji supporting a wasted Misato.
"Hey, guys," Kaji greeted everyone, amidst the moaning of a barely conscious NERV Major.
Shinji and Cyan politely greeted the man, but were drowned out by Asuka. "Hello, Kaji!" Asuka put on her lovey-dovey voice, as the man entered the room, "How are you?"
"Alright," he said, before turning to Shinji. "Where's Misato's room?"
"This way," Shinji lead Kaji to the woman's room. Cyan turned to Asuka.
"I see you're still trying to jump Kaji?"
"Why not?" Asuka flashed the guy-killer smile (as opposed to lady-killer) and walked off to follow Kaji, who was walking away from Misato's room with Shinji.
"Well, I best be going now," Kaji said as he motioned to depart.
Asuka sensed her chance slipping away. "Aww, you can stay here is you want!" Cyan was almost laughing out loud. [Christ, she's pretty subtle...]
"Afraid not," Kaji shot the German down, "If I turned up for work tomorrow wearing this, I'd never live it down..." Kaji began to walk for the door.
The German was losing her man. "Aw, come on, Kaji! You can do it!" She began to chase after Kaji, attaching herself to his arm.
"Hey, come on, Kaji, it'd b..." Asuka stopped when a familiar smell wafted past her, paralysing her.
Kaji let out a distressed sigh. "Later, Asuka," he said, as he left the apartment.
[Lavender perfume...] Asuka looked as though her world was falling apart. [Misato said that that stuff wasn't for kids...she wants Kaji for herself...damn it, Cyan was right. Kaji wouldn't want a kid like me...]
"Bye, Kaji," Cyan said as he closed the door behind the NERV employee. Asuka stood motionless in the corridor as Cyan turned back to the room.
"Asuka?" Cyan walked forward, waving his hand in front of Asuka's face. "Alo? Earth to Asuka?"
Asuka remained silent as she stormed to her room. [Damn it, Cyan was lying! I can still get Kaji! I don't care what he says!]
---------------
Misato's head was spinning. She shifted her head, and saw the light of day through the window.
[It's already...morning?] She grumbled, pulling the covers back over her head. [God my head hurts...and my throat feels like it's burning...]
The covers came off, and Misato's eyes opened in an instant. Her hands instinctively shot around her chest, afraid that she was unclothed, but found that she was still wearing the formal suit she had on last night. In front of her, a pair of feet stood behind a tray holding a tall glass of water and a plate of raw oysters.
"...huh? What's all this?" Misato murmured, still half asleep.
"Read somewhere all this stuff is good for a hangover," Cyan said, as he knelt down, "Itadakimasu!"
Misato picked up one of the slimy shellfish, and cautiously popped it into her mouth. Swallowing it in a strained manner, it was obvious she didn't like the taste.
"Are you...sure about this?" Misato said squeamishly.
"Yeah," Cyan assured the Major, "Just finish this plate off and you'll be fine." Cyan was about to stand up when he remembered something. "Oh, and by the way," Cyan added, "Those pictures of Kensuke's are history."
"Mmm...Thanks, Cyan..." Misato thanked the boy in her near comatose state. Cyan grinned as he stood up and walked out.
"I don't recall you making us breakfast," Asuka said, in a disappointed tone.
Cyan was ready with the comeback: "I don't recall you drinking till you threw up last night."
"Touche..." Asuka went back to her breakfast (Shinji's famous miso soup). "So, what classes do you have today?"
Cyan let out an audible sigh, "Physics, and Computing, Kanji and History with you guys...bad day today..."
"Tell me about it," Shinji put in his two cents, "Guess what we have while you do Physics?"
"No wait," Cyan put his hand to his head, as if he were a mind reader, "Lectures about the Second Impact?"
"My God, he's a psychic..." Asuka joked.
----------------
"Okay, let's start with the roll call...ladies first..." The teacher's monotone voice was already putting Cyan to sleep. "Ayanami...Rei Ayanami..."
All eyes shot to an empty seat beside the window. "Is Rei away again!?" the teacher sounded pissed off.
[Where the hell is she?] Cyan thought to himself, [Probably some secret NERV tests or something...]
-----------------
Kaji looked at the keypad, the slightest sense of nerves in his stomach. [Let's see if the rumours are true...]
Kaji punched in the code, and the keypad went from red to green, signifying that all Kaji had to do to enter this room was to enter the keycard that he 'borrowed' from someone upstairs...
Before his card could pass through the reader, Kaji immediately soiled himself at the sound of a gun cocking behind him. Only when he heard the distinct sound of a woman clear her throat did he know that his life wasn't in danger.
"Greetings, Misato," he said cheerfully, "Feeling better?"
"I'm sober now, thank you."
"I'm glad to hear that, Misato," he said before he was interrupted.
"Is this your real job?" Misato interrogated her captive, pistol muzzle firmly pressed against the back of his head. "Or is it just something you do part-time?"
"What do you think?"
"I think that there are two Ryoji Kajis," Misato theorised, "One works as NERV's Special Inspections Manager, and the other would be a spy for Japanese Intelligence..."
"Hmph, so you knew..."
"Don't underestimate NERV, Kaji," Misato was growing impatient with Kaji's attitude.
"Was this ordered by Ikari?" All trace of kindness was now gone from Kaji's voice, the seriousness of his predicament dawning on him.
"No, it's my initiative," Misato said curtly, "but if you stay with this other job, you'll die..."
"Perhaps not," Kaji smirked, unseen by Misato, "Commander Ikari is using me for his own ends. However, I am sorry I've kept this from you."
"I'll let it slide," Misato replied, showing the slightest bit of compassion, "Repayment for last night."
"I appreciate that." Kaji's hand, holding the keycard, hovered over the lock. "But you should know, Ikari and Ritsuko are hiding something from you too..." Bringing down his card hand, and sliding it through the lock, he proclaimed, "...and this is it!"
Misato watched helplessly as the blast doors opened, revealing the contents of LCL Manufacturing Plant No. 1. "Oh my God...is that an Eva..?" Images from her dark past flashed before her eyes. "No...it can't be..."
"Yes," Kaji confirmed what Misato's eyes wouldn't believe, "The keystone to Second Impact and everything that's happened since..."
"Adam..." Misato spat out the name as if it were a curse. "What is the first Angel doing here!?"
No response. Misato looked up at the giant white being. "You're right, Ryoji," she said, using his real first name for the first time in a long time, "I don't know NERV at all..."
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Sorry about the delay, I've had a little trouble with the service provider, but hopefully that will all be fixed shortly. Anyway, seeing as there are people who actually read this, I might as well continue with it. I'd still appreciate any feedback, although I know tedious you guys find it all...
Anyway, see you next chapter, I suppose.
Where Am I, Chapter 7 - Distrust : True Colors of NERV
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
"Hi...This is Kaji...I'm out right now, but you can leave a name and message after the beep."
Asuka heard the tone, signifying that Kaji's message machine was ready to take a message. And what a message it was...
"AAAAAAGH! HELP ME KAJI!!!" Asuka wailed, "Don't touch me you pervert! AAAAAAGH!"
Asuka pushed the "End Call" button on her cell phone, and placed it in her pocket. "That should get his attention," she told herself.
Hikari looked in on Asuka from the classroom. "What was all that about?"
Asuka leaned against the wall. "I was just calling Kaji," she lamented, "I wanted him to take me out tomorrow night. I've been calling him and calling him, but he's always out doing something..."
Hikari brightened up. "You mean you'll be free tomorrow?"
"Unfortunately, it seems so..."
"Great! I've got a favour to ask you..."
Meanwhile, back in the classroom, Rei was wringing a cloth free into a bucket. Cyan was busy clapping dusters, while Toji was mopping the floor. Shinji was supposed to be dusting, but something about Rei caught his eye...
[The way she wrings that cloth...it's familiar...] A mop connecting with his face shattered his daydream.
"Hey!" Toji shouted, snapping Shinji out of his delusions, "Get back to your work!"
"Agh! Sorry!" Shinji sounded aggravated. At this time, Hikari walked back in.
"How about you getting back to your work, Suzuhara!?" she scolded.
"Yeah, sure..." Toji said, lowering his mop back to the floor. Cyan stifled a laugh.
"What's so funny, Sixth Child!?" Toji shouted across the room.
"Christ, Toji, you're so henpecked," Cyan said, grinning from ear to ear, "You got the hots for our class rep, huh?"
"Cut it out!" Toji swung the mop at Cyan, who easily danced away.
"First Misato, now Hikari," Cyan taunted, "You gotta thing for chicks in authority?"
Toji blew his top, throwing the mop at Cyan as if it were a spear. Completely to everyone's surprise (even Cyan's), he spun out of the way, caught the mop, and used the momentum to spin it around into his other hand, now clasping it with both hands. Cyan looked at the mop, suddenly in his hands.
"How in hell did you do that?" Asuka asked from the door, observing Cyan's actions from the corridor.
"You tell me," Cyan said quietly. The school bell interrupted all, and the students packed up all items and left.
Shinji, Cyan and Asuka were happy to go home, until Rei approached them.
"We have sync tests," she said quietly, we must go to NERV headquarters." She walked on, oblivious to the three other kids swearing behind her.
--------------------
"Tomorrow..." Shinji said quietly to himself in the elevator. Sync tests went for longer than expected, and it would be dark before they all got home. He had managed to catch the elevator before Rei could take it down by herself like she usually did.
"Tomorrow I have to go see my father," he reminded himself, loud enough for Rei to hear. "What should I talk about, Rei?"
"I don't understand," Rei said in her usual quiet manner, "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, you seem to be closer to him than me," Shinji reasoned, "You seem to enjoy talking to him..."
Rei stayed silent. "Say, what's my father like, anyway?"
"I don't know." Shinji looked down. It was Rei's turn to ask a question. "Have you been watching me because you wanted to ask me that question?"
"Um, yeah..." Shinji was reminded of something he saw earlier. "Hey, before, when we were cleaning up, that cloth, um, the way you wringed it...it reminded me of a mother..."
"Um..." Rei wasn't sure how to respond. She felt blood rush to her face...
Shinji laughed nervously. "I'm sure you'd make a great mother, Rei!"
Rei didn't turn, so as not to show Shinji her red face. "You...embarrass me."
---------------------
Later on, Misato finally got home. "I'm home!" she called out.
"Hey, Misato," Cyan called out.
"How's it hangin'?" Asuka added.
Misato walked in to the lounge room, and saw Cyan laying face down watching TV, Asuka preferring to watch it upside-down, laying on her back, with a packet of chips cradled on her stomach.
"You should go to bed, Asuka," Misato recommended, "Don't you have a date tomorrow?"
"Some med student," Asuka confirmed, "Hikari set me up with him...oh, Misato! Can I borrow your lavender perfume?"
"Hey, that stuff's not for kids!" Misato scolded as she changed tops in her room. "Hey, where's Shinji?"
"In his room, ever since he got home," Cyan said, still watching the television.
"I don't think he wants to meet his father. If he hates him so much, why doesn't he just say?"
"That's the problem," Misato sighed, "he doesn't actually hate him...Cyan, maybe you can go talk to him?"
"Me?" Cyan sat up. "I barely know him..."
"He looks up to you, kid," Misato smiled, "You're like the big brother he never had..."
Cyan shrugged, and walked to Shinji's room. He knocked.
"Is that you, Misato?" he heard Shinji call out.
"I'm flattered, but no."
"Oh, Cyan! Sorry..."
The door opened. "Don't forget what I said, Shinji."
"Oh, sor..." Shinji cut himself short.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure," Shinji said, letting Cyan in. Cyan walked in, and took a seat at the foot of Shinji's bed.
"Going to see your father again, huh?" Cyan said, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Yeah..." Shinji wasn't very talkative.
"I...take it you guys don't get along..."
Shinji's face screwed up in anger, a side of him Cyan hadn't seen too regularly. "I hate him. He abandoned me when I was three...and the one time he calls me to him, he wants me to pilot the Eva..."
Cyan took all this in, and understood. "Don't worry...it's okay to hate other people, even if they are your parents. I didn't get along with my father either. He was my complete opposite, and he never understood anything I did. But...I didn't just shut him off. I kept in touch with him, to help me understand him more. That's why it's important to talk to him..."
Shinji looked up as Cyan continued. "You have to confront him. Don't let him walk all over you like this..."
"That's not what I'm worried about..." Shinji confessed. "I'm seeing my mother too..."
"Really?" Cyan asked, oblivious, "What's she like? Better than your dad?"
"I never...knew her..."
Cyan knew exactly what he meant. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry..."
"Practice what you preach, Cyan."
Cyan looked up, surprised by Shinji's sudden display of wit. "Smart-ass," he grinned.
Cyan got up, and walked out of the room. He paused at the door. "Listen," he said to Shinji, "If you ever need someone to talk to...I'm...there, alright?"
Shinji smiled. "Thanks, Cyan. I know how hard it must be for you. You don't seem to be the brotherly type..."
Cyan laughed, and closed the door behind him. Misato was waiting for him.
"Good job, Cyan," Misato thanked him.
"No sweat." Cyan was about to walk away, when Misato stopped her.
"I've got one more thing to ask," Misato requested, "I'm going to a wedding tomorrow night..."
"You want me to babysit?" Cyan finished. Asuka heard this.
"Hey, I resent that!" she whined, "We don't need a babysitter!"
"Okay, think of him as a bodyguard," Misato said, before leaving for her room once more. "I'm going to bed, and so are you guys."
"Good night, Misato," Cyan said, watching his host's bedroom door shut, before turning to Asuka. "Good night, Asuka."
Asuka got the hint. "Alright, I'm going..."
-----------------
Shinji knelt in front of the gravesite, examining the tombstone and its engravings. He knew what was written on it. It read "YUI IKARI, 1977 - 2004". The howl of wind went on overhead, echoed by the desolateness of the cemetery.
"It's been three years, since we were last here..." Shinji heard his father say.
"That's when I ran away," Shinji commented, "I haven't come back here since...I just don't believe that my mom's resting here...I don't even remember her face..."
"Burying memories is Man's way of surviving," Gendo told his son, "But there are some things a man should never forget. Yui taught me that one, irreplaceable thing, Shinji. That is the reason I come here, to confirm that commitment."
Shinji exhaled heavily. "You don't have a picture of her?"
"No photographs. Even this grave is an artifice. Nothing remains."
"It's like my teacher says...you cast everything away..."
"I keep my memories in my heart," Gendo concluded, "I'm satisfied with that..."
The roar of a plane touching down nearby filled the air. "Our time is up. I'm leaving now." Gendo began to walk to the plane. Shinji looked up at his father as he stood up.
"Father!" he cried out, "I'm glad we could talk today..."
Gendo turned, just as he was about to enter the plane. "Indeed..."
-------------------
Shinji got home earlier than expected. Now it was time to pay his own tribute. He retrieved his cello from his room, and set up in the kitchen. After a few seconds, the first few chords to "Ode to Joy" flowed throughout the apartment block. Every note he played made him think of the mother he never really had...the mother he never knew... [No one else I know went through the same kind of life I've had...or have they?]
When the final note echoed through the house, he heard two sets of hands applaud him from behind. Turning around, he saw Cyan and Asuka.
"That was very nice, Shinji," Asuka complimented, "I didn't know you played."
"I started when I was five," Shinji said brightly, as Asuka collapsed in her room, while Cyan went to the couch, "but I'm still not that good..."
No one noticed Pen Pen poke his head out of his fridge, while the conversation continued. "Well, just stick to it, Shinji," Cyan encouraged, before turning to Asuka. "You're home early, aren't you? Didn't you have a date?"
"Yeah, but he was more boring that Shinji, so while he was in line for the roller coaster I took a train back here."
Shinji was astonished. "That's a little cold, isn't it?"
Asuka sighed, the strain of a lost love in her voice. "Kaji's the only real man in my life..."
-----------------
"Right...yeah, sure, Misato...bye." Cyan hung up his mobile as Asuka walked out of her room.
"Was that Misato?" she asked.
"Yep," Cyan answered, "She's gonna be late home, so don't wait up..."
"What!? You mean she won't be back till tomorrow morning?"
Shinji turned to Asuka. "I doubt it. She's going out with Kaji..."
"You idiot! That guarantees it!" Asuka ranted.
Sure enough, five hours went by, and still no Misato. Cyan was still getting around the use of chopsticks, while Asuka had laid her head on the table, rapping her fingers against said table.
"Hey Shinji," she said for no apparent reason, "you wanna kiss me?"
Shinji looked at Asuka, taking out his earphones. "Huh? What!?"
"You know, kissing. Have you done it before?" Shinji nodded dumbly. "So let's do it."
"But...why?"
"I've got nothing better to do," Asuka reasoned.
"That's your reason? Um...you're weird..." Shinji muttered.
Asuka lifted her head, smirking. "What's the matter? Afraid your mother's watching you from heaven?" she taunted.
"No, that's not it..." Shinji complained.
"Or are you scared?" she continued to taunt the Third Child mercilessly.
"I'm not afraid!" Shinji said angrily, standing up. "Pucker up!"
Asuka grinned devilishly. "Mmm...not interested any more." She said as she stood up and walked away to the lounge room. Cyan, having given up on chopsticks, was on the couch watching television, and thus didn't have any idea what was going on. Asuka walked in front of him, and before he could complain about her being in his way, she pounced on Cyan, planting her lips on his, making pleased sounding noises. Cyan fell back in surprise, pashing back for a few seconds, before Asuka stood up again, and assessed the situation.
"Mmm...Not bad, Cyan!" she smiled as she walked to the bathroom, "I could get used to that!"
Cyan stared at the Second Child as if she'd grown a second head as she closed the door behind her. Cyan looked back at Shinji, whose eyes were bulging, blood beginning to trickle down his upper lip.
"Could get used to that," Cyan laughed, as he lay back on the couch in sheer disbelief at the passing events. Shinji didn't know what the hell to think...
----------------
Kaji was straining under the weight of Misato, but there was no way he was going to let on. "Drinking until you throw up," Kaji said, in a rather unimpressed tone, "How old are you?"
Misato could only barely manage to slur her reply: "Old enough to regret it..."
"So am I..." Kaji said, ignoring Misato's wise-crack "You're damn right!".
Misato's arms were under Kaji's chin, and thus they were getting considerably itchy. "You need to shave your...uh...sloppy face...I can walk now..."
Kaji set the woman down, and she began to walk alongside her old flame. After a short while of silence, she spoke again.
"Kaji, d'you think I've changed?"
"You're even prettier."
Misato chuckled, despite her state. "That's not what I meant..."
Silence. Misato continued. "When I told you there was someone else...you knew it wasn't true, didn't you?"
Kaji was slightly taken aback, but it didn't show on his face. "No..."
"I'd realised how much like my father you were...and I panicked...I couldn't believe I wanted a man just like my father...I was terrified, so I ran..."
Kaji was looking at the Major with what could be seen as contempt as Misato continued. "I was afraid of becoming a woman, afraid of being with you, and I thought I hated my father, but I fell in love with someone just like him...
"I thought joining NERV was a way for me to sever those ties, but it turned out that my father worked for them too...so I tried to bury it all by swearing vengeance against the Angels..."
Misato stopped walking, and Kaji turned to face her. "Choosing that path was your decision. You don't have to apologise to anyone!"
"Don't bullshit me, Kaji!" Misato hissed drunkenly, "I just turned tail and ran...it was just an escape from the real world and my father...hell, I'm no better than Shinji is! I'm a coward, Kaji...it's just like right now, I had to get up the nerve to get so falling-down drunk enough to even tell you the truth!"
Kaji wouldn't stand for much more of this. "That's enough!"
Misato continued her tirade, through sobs of depression. "I'm a child...I've no right to be Shinji's guardian, or Asuka's, hell, or Cyan's! Look at me, so afraid to accept a helping hand from a man unless I'm so shitfaced that I don't even know what I'm doing!"
"Enough, Misato! Cut it out!" Kaji was getting impatient.
"I'm pathetic, I'm a child, Kaji! I'd use you! I'm just so - agh!" Misato gasped as Kaji closed his mouth over hers, effectively shutting her up. Misato was paralysed with shock for a brief moment, letting out muffled cries of protest, eventually surrendering to Kaji's embrace. As she calmed down, her hands let her high heels slip to the ground...
--------------------
"Um, Cyan?" Asuka walked into the lounge room, a little inhibitedly, "Are you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm awake..." Cyan curled his legs up, to partake in what was turning out to be a sort of nightly tradition: a couch-side chat with the Second Child.
"Um...about earlier..."
"I know. I can think of three reasons why you did what you did...One, living with two boys for this long, at your age, well that explains itself..."
"Just what do you mean by that!?"
Cyan ignored her. "Two, you've never been kissed before, and you just wanted to know what it was like...which I highly doubt...or three," he added with a chuckle, "you just want to make Shinji jealous." Asuka turned a shade of pink at the thought. "None of which I expect anything more from."
Asuka looked at Cyan in surprise. "Huh?"
"It's my long way about saying 'let's just be friends'," Cyan smiled.
"You really are different..." Asuka smiled back. "Thanks for understanding, Cyan. At least you're more sensible than the Stooges..."
"Shinji ain't so bad," Cyan defended his 'brother', "Those other two...God, you don't want to know what that brat Kensuke's got on his hard drive..."
This got Asuka's attention, for all the wrong reasons. "What?" she growled.
"Don't worry, it's all been taken care of..."
----------------
Kensuke double clicked on a familiar folder entitled "Schoolgirls changeroom pics", expecting to find the 200 megabytes of images taken from (you guessed it) the school change rooms.
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL!?" The otaku adjusted his glasses to ensure he saw the blank window correctly, "WHO IN FUCK DELETED ALL MY POR..." Kensuke remembered that his father was in the next room. "...er...study notes..!?"
---------------
Before Asuka could say anything else, the front door opened, revealing Kaji supporting a wasted Misato.
"Hey, guys," Kaji greeted everyone, amidst the moaning of a barely conscious NERV Major.
Shinji and Cyan politely greeted the man, but were drowned out by Asuka. "Hello, Kaji!" Asuka put on her lovey-dovey voice, as the man entered the room, "How are you?"
"Alright," he said, before turning to Shinji. "Where's Misato's room?"
"This way," Shinji lead Kaji to the woman's room. Cyan turned to Asuka.
"I see you're still trying to jump Kaji?"
"Why not?" Asuka flashed the guy-killer smile (as opposed to lady-killer) and walked off to follow Kaji, who was walking away from Misato's room with Shinji.
"Well, I best be going now," Kaji said as he motioned to depart.
Asuka sensed her chance slipping away. "Aww, you can stay here is you want!" Cyan was almost laughing out loud. [Christ, she's pretty subtle...]
"Afraid not," Kaji shot the German down, "If I turned up for work tomorrow wearing this, I'd never live it down..." Kaji began to walk for the door.
The German was losing her man. "Aw, come on, Kaji! You can do it!" She began to chase after Kaji, attaching herself to his arm.
"Hey, come on, Kaji, it'd b..." Asuka stopped when a familiar smell wafted past her, paralysing her.
Kaji let out a distressed sigh. "Later, Asuka," he said, as he left the apartment.
[Lavender perfume...] Asuka looked as though her world was falling apart. [Misato said that that stuff wasn't for kids...she wants Kaji for herself...damn it, Cyan was right. Kaji wouldn't want a kid like me...]
"Bye, Kaji," Cyan said as he closed the door behind the NERV employee. Asuka stood motionless in the corridor as Cyan turned back to the room.
"Asuka?" Cyan walked forward, waving his hand in front of Asuka's face. "Alo? Earth to Asuka?"
Asuka remained silent as she stormed to her room. [Damn it, Cyan was lying! I can still get Kaji! I don't care what he says!]
---------------
Misato's head was spinning. She shifted her head, and saw the light of day through the window.
[It's already...morning?] She grumbled, pulling the covers back over her head. [God my head hurts...and my throat feels like it's burning...]
The covers came off, and Misato's eyes opened in an instant. Her hands instinctively shot around her chest, afraid that she was unclothed, but found that she was still wearing the formal suit she had on last night. In front of her, a pair of feet stood behind a tray holding a tall glass of water and a plate of raw oysters.
"...huh? What's all this?" Misato murmured, still half asleep.
"Read somewhere all this stuff is good for a hangover," Cyan said, as he knelt down, "Itadakimasu!"
Misato picked up one of the slimy shellfish, and cautiously popped it into her mouth. Swallowing it in a strained manner, it was obvious she didn't like the taste.
"Are you...sure about this?" Misato said squeamishly.
"Yeah," Cyan assured the Major, "Just finish this plate off and you'll be fine." Cyan was about to stand up when he remembered something. "Oh, and by the way," Cyan added, "Those pictures of Kensuke's are history."
"Mmm...Thanks, Cyan..." Misato thanked the boy in her near comatose state. Cyan grinned as he stood up and walked out.
"I don't recall you making us breakfast," Asuka said, in a disappointed tone.
Cyan was ready with the comeback: "I don't recall you drinking till you threw up last night."
"Touche..." Asuka went back to her breakfast (Shinji's famous miso soup). "So, what classes do you have today?"
Cyan let out an audible sigh, "Physics, and Computing, Kanji and History with you guys...bad day today..."
"Tell me about it," Shinji put in his two cents, "Guess what we have while you do Physics?"
"No wait," Cyan put his hand to his head, as if he were a mind reader, "Lectures about the Second Impact?"
"My God, he's a psychic..." Asuka joked.
----------------
"Okay, let's start with the roll call...ladies first..." The teacher's monotone voice was already putting Cyan to sleep. "Ayanami...Rei Ayanami..."
All eyes shot to an empty seat beside the window. "Is Rei away again!?" the teacher sounded pissed off.
[Where the hell is she?] Cyan thought to himself, [Probably some secret NERV tests or something...]
-----------------
Kaji looked at the keypad, the slightest sense of nerves in his stomach. [Let's see if the rumours are true...]
Kaji punched in the code, and the keypad went from red to green, signifying that all Kaji had to do to enter this room was to enter the keycard that he 'borrowed' from someone upstairs...
Before his card could pass through the reader, Kaji immediately soiled himself at the sound of a gun cocking behind him. Only when he heard the distinct sound of a woman clear her throat did he know that his life wasn't in danger.
"Greetings, Misato," he said cheerfully, "Feeling better?"
"I'm sober now, thank you."
"I'm glad to hear that, Misato," he said before he was interrupted.
"Is this your real job?" Misato interrogated her captive, pistol muzzle firmly pressed against the back of his head. "Or is it just something you do part-time?"
"What do you think?"
"I think that there are two Ryoji Kajis," Misato theorised, "One works as NERV's Special Inspections Manager, and the other would be a spy for Japanese Intelligence..."
"Hmph, so you knew..."
"Don't underestimate NERV, Kaji," Misato was growing impatient with Kaji's attitude.
"Was this ordered by Ikari?" All trace of kindness was now gone from Kaji's voice, the seriousness of his predicament dawning on him.
"No, it's my initiative," Misato said curtly, "but if you stay with this other job, you'll die..."
"Perhaps not," Kaji smirked, unseen by Misato, "Commander Ikari is using me for his own ends. However, I am sorry I've kept this from you."
"I'll let it slide," Misato replied, showing the slightest bit of compassion, "Repayment for last night."
"I appreciate that." Kaji's hand, holding the keycard, hovered over the lock. "But you should know, Ikari and Ritsuko are hiding something from you too..." Bringing down his card hand, and sliding it through the lock, he proclaimed, "...and this is it!"
Misato watched helplessly as the blast doors opened, revealing the contents of LCL Manufacturing Plant No. 1. "Oh my God...is that an Eva..?" Images from her dark past flashed before her eyes. "No...it can't be..."
"Yes," Kaji confirmed what Misato's eyes wouldn't believe, "The keystone to Second Impact and everything that's happened since..."
"Adam..." Misato spat out the name as if it were a curse. "What is the first Angel doing here!?"
No response. Misato looked up at the giant white being. "You're right, Ryoji," she said, using his real first name for the first time in a long time, "I don't know NERV at all..."
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Sorry about the delay, I've had a little trouble with the service provider, but hopefully that will all be fixed shortly. Anyway, seeing as there are people who actually read this, I might as well continue with it. I'd still appreciate any feedback, although I know tedious you guys find it all...
Anyway, see you next chapter, I suppose.