Disclaimer: Evangelion: Neon Genesis is not owned by me, it's owned by GAINAX. This fanfic cannot be distributed without the clear, explicit consent of the author (me). No profit has been made from this piece.
Author's Note: I'd just like to thank all those who gave encourging reviews... A large part of me was motivated to do this because of the positive reviews.
It was an early Saturday evening. Misato, Asuka, and Kaworu had just finished lunch. Misato had to work during the afternoon, but she had dropped Asuka off at the Hospital, along with Kaworu to make sure she wouldn't run off and would actually attend her appointment. Asuka was still quite bitter, and her resentment towards the psychologist she had an appointment had not alleviated. In fact, she seemed to be aggravating herself.
"I don't need some damn psychologist! Why Misato even did this is beyond me."
Asuka followed her statement by putting both of her hands behind her head, and lifted her head up to look at the sky. Kaworu just looked down at the pavement and sighed.
"It doesn't matter whether you need it or not. Misato signed you up for it, so I think it would be best if you followed her wishes," Kaworu sighed. He tried to read the paper that Misato had given him. "Lets go... It's in Room 7045... I think. The 7 might be a 9, and I'm not so sure the 4 is a 4 either... Gah, judging by her handwritting, I'd say she was a teenage schoolboy trying to finish his homework before he had to to go school..."
Kaworu started walking towards the entrance, but found Asuka still standing there, motionless. He proceeded to grab her hand, and attempted to drag her towards the door. Asuka snatched her hand back from Kaworu, and grabbed his wrist instead, reversing their positions. The duo stepped into the lobby, and entered the elevator which was empty. Asuka then seized the piece of paper Misato left behind for Kaworu.
"That looks more like a 9 to me..." Asuka muttered. Her next action was to press the button for the 9th floor. Kaworu followed by pushing the button with a 7 on it.
"What the fuck?!?" Asuka growled. She raised her hand as though she was about to strike Kaworu. Kaworu simply sidestepped away.
"It looks more like a 7 to me. Besides, the 7th floor is closer to the lobby. If it is indeed there, then we'll be saving time."
"And if it's not, we'll have wasted time." grumbled Asuka.
"Oh well. Too late; I already pressed the button. We might as well check out that floor first." Kaworu grinned seeing how he had won the argument.
Asuka pursed her lips, then hit the button for the 6th floor.
"There. We better check out that floor first." she said with a broad grin on her face as the door opened. She stepped aside.
"Ladies first." she smiled sweetly.
"I still have trouble believing you could mistake a 7 for a 6... Even with Misato's atrocious handwriting, you can't make such a mistake without trying to do so."
"Shut up..." Asuka mumbled. She jabbed her elbow into Kaworu's ribs, which immediately brought him down to his knees. Kaworu was clutching where Asuka had hit him, and was lolling on the floor. Asuka took one look then ignored it. After a few seconds, she stole a peek, and saw that Kaworu was still on the ground. She squatted down, and attempted to roll Kaworu onto his back.
"Are you ok?" Had Kaworu seen the look on her face, he would've recognized that it was one of concern and compassion.
"Oh, stop faking it..." said Asuka. It was hard to tell whether she really believed what she was saying. When Kaworu made no response except to groan a little, Asuka bumped him a bit with her shoe, then squatted down when he gave no response.
"Hey! Are you ok?" Asuka nudged harder, and this time Kaworu rolled over. There was no expression on his face.
"Aw, crap... At least this is a hospital where you can get treated quickly..."
Unable to keep it in anymore, Kaworu involuntarily let a smile manifest itself on his face. Asuka immediately went berserk.
"You bastard!" Asuka's voice was torn between unholy fury and laughter. She slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Get up!"
Kaworu got to his feet laughing. Asuka was trying to keep herself from following his lead, but eventually faltered. She punched him in the shoulder, hard. There was a loud impact which echoed throughout the empty halls. Kaworu returned the blow playfully. It wasn't a very hard punch, and he doubted if it even hurt her. After all, he was the Angel of Free Will. He could choose the severity of his blows as opposed to the other Angels. Of course, Asuka, the merciless, didn't relent and gave an even harder punch than before in return. Before he could surrender, Asuka gave another punch, and it felt as though his shoulder was a bit dis located.
"Ow. What was the second one for?"
"Think of it as pre-emptive retribution."
The elevator opened. The pair stepped into it.
"So... I don't get an apology from you for 'misreading' the note and wasting our time?" Kaworu asked with a smile.
"I don't apologize for petty things like this," Asuka retorted while sticking her tongue out, "besides, it has yet to be seen if you're correct or not."
"Why not apologize? A little apology mends small rifts before they become festering ravines."
"I hate people who apologize too much... It's so annoying, and makes them look like pansy asses. It's a sign of weakness."
"Is that why you don't like the Third Child?"
Asuka hesitated a little before answering.
"It's part of the reason, but there's more. But this isn't the place to talk about it. And if I don't hurry, I'm going to be late." evaded Asuka. Kaworu could tell from the two excuses she gave that she really didn't want to discuss the Third. At that moment, the elevator doors opened. It wasn't because somebody inside the elevator had pushed a button, but rather because somebody else wanted to use it. The gauge read 9th floor. Asuka stepped out, followed by Kaworu. Together, the made their way through the myraid of hallways, and finally found the room they were looking for. It read:
Room 9045: Psychologist. Dr. Oyama
"This is the room... Looks like my fears have been confirmed. It's a psychologist, a half-trained imbecil lacking more brain matter than an eggplant... Misato could've at least hooked me up with a psychiatrist..."
Kaworu entered the room, trailed by Asuka. Kaworu went up to the counter, and was promptly greeted by a nurse.
"I believe there is an appointment for Asuka Soyhru? Erm, I meant Asuka Langley?
The nurse flipped through her clipboard.
"Yes. The doctor has been expecting her. Follow me please."
The nurse took the lead, followed by Kaworu and Asuka tugging at his side. The nurse had finally reached a door, and opened it. Kaworu peered in. It looked quite comfortable with its fluffy sofa, leather chair, and it's coffee machine brewing a cup of steaming coffee. Asuka instantly recognized it as an elaborate trick to get the patient to relax. She gave Kaworu a pleading look as though she wanted Kaworu to go along, but was too proud to ask. Kaworu took the initiative instead.
"May I come along with her?"
"I'm sorry, but this is a private counseling session. No visitors are allowed." the nurse replied with a apologetic smile.
"Alright... I'll be right outside when you're done, ok?"
"Right," Asuka turned around and waved a little. "Bye."
"See you later."
Asuka stepped in, and the door automatically closed behind her, leaving her alone with a man who was reading the newspaper while sipping coffee. She was quite suprised when he spoke in German.
"Hallo... Ich habe Sie erwartet. Warum nicht sitzen Sie hin?"
Asuka gave no answer except to stare back at the man. It seemed as though she was trying to burn a hole through him with her eyes.
"Suprised spreche ich Deutsches? Ich wohnte in Deutschland für einige Jahre. Ich dachte mit Ihrer Muttersprache würde bilden Sie bequemer. Haben Sie einen Sitz. "
Asuka gave the same response as she did before. The man alternated to Japanese.
"Suit yourself. If you get tired, you can sit down later. Would you like something to drink?"
Asuka narrowed her eyes. She could already see how he was trying to make her relax.
"Crap, I just had to get this type of patient..."
"The strong and silent type, huh?"
Asuka once again just repeated her previous action of doing nothing.
"This is going to be a long day..."
Authors notes: I apologize beforehand for the German, which is probably mangled more than a ferret caught in a jet engine. It was done with the help of an online translator, so the syntax is most likely messed up as well. This is a warning; later in the fanfict, things will get a lot darker and angsty. If you're the happy-go-lucky type, you probably won't like the ending, as its very angsty and depressing. I'm finding it harder and harder to find time to write, with school work piling up, so the next chapter might take some time to complete. Thanks for reading, and you will review, or I will input malignant ActiveX code or something and massively fuck up your computer. ~_^
