Story: Evangelion, The Children of Humanity: Guardian Angel
Chapter 9: Of Music and Angels Part 1
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own Evangelion and its characters. Again, I do not have the rights to Metallica or their songs. All I own are my own characters and the plot. I'm just a fan ok? Not making any profits here so don't sue me!
A/N: Here's chapter nine.
Sunday pasted by in a storm of non-stop practice for the concert the next day, Toji was especially worn out from the furious drum banging and was currently sitting in the bathtub in his bathroom, the tub was filled with ice. Downstairs, Kesuke was having loads of fun on his base, which he had been neglecting for a while before this. Rei was also enjoying herself on the keyboard and was practicing to keep tempo with the other instruments, with smiles from Kensuke as encouragement. Asuka was showing off a solo to Shinji, who had his hands to his ears because he couldn't stand the volume. Asuka took this personally,
"Hey! Baka! I'm ripping up a great solo just for you and you plug up your ears!?"
"I'm sorry Asuka, it's just that the volume is a bit too loud for me." He said.
"Well why didn't you say so!?" she turned the volume down and cranked up the distortion.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" she screamed and the red Mockingbird guitar she used screamed louder.
George was looking over the tabs again and again and played parts on his black Warlock guitar, making sure he had them down. Hikari was playing her flute with Shinji on Cello but when he took a break to visit Asuka she too decided to rest and went upstairs to see if Toji was ok.
She came before his door and knocked,
"Toji? How's your ice bath?"
"Hi..Hikari! Oh...err, I'm good! Hold on!"
She heard, sounds of someone running around were heard then the door opened, revealing a Toji with only a towel wrapped around him.
"Hikari! So what brings you here?"
Trying to ignore his state of dress she answered "Oh...uh, I'm taking a break, so I thought I'd come to check how you are. So does your back still ache?"
"Oh, yeah, a little. The ice helped a bit."
She smiled "Well, why don't you go and put on a pair of pants first."
He looked down and blushed, dashing to his bathroom. Hikari stepped into the room and eased the door shut behind her. She went over to his bed and noticed her picture on the bedside table, she gasped and examined it. It was from a school picnic last year, she wondered if this meant...
"Ok Hikari, what were you saying?" Toji asked stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in shorts and a tight black t-shirt.
She quickly put down the picture and turned to him, "Oh, I err...just wanted to help you with your aches."
"Huh?" Toji said.
She motioned him onto the bed and he obeyed. Next thing he felt was a pair of hands relaxing the muscles around his neck and shoulders.
"Oh Hikari, that feels great!" She smiled and continued to release the stress from his back muscles and getting some moans out of Toji, who felt like he was in heaven. She stopped after a while and sat down on the bed next to him. "Ohh...thank you Hikari, that was wonderful."
"You're welcome Toji." She said, she was debating whether to ask him about the picture and made up her mind. "Toji, how come you have my picture next to your bed?"
Toji was taken by surprised 'Toji you're so stupid! Why did you leave it on your bed table!?' he thought.
"Um...Hikari, don't be mad, I just...um...." He tried to think of a reason and came up with nothing.
She looked at his reaction, "Toji, what's on your mind?"
Toji looked at her in the eyes and threw what caution and hesitation he had to the winds, "Well...you see I...have a c..c..crushonyou!" He said the last part really fast, already dreading how she would take this.
"Do you really mean it?" she said after a few minutes of silence.
"I would never lied about something like this!" he replied.
Hikari said nothing, and her face was blank. She simply motioned him to follow her. He did, and she led him to her room and motioned him in. Toji looked around and notice something familiar...on the beside table there was also a picture...of him!
"Hikari? I..." he stammered.
She smiled at him "You know, I like you too Toji."
He stared at her, mouth opening and closing without sound. "Toji...?" she asked, unsure what his reaction meant.
He shook himself and then grinned, "Hikari, that's great!" he gathered her in a big hug and she breathed a sigh of relief.
They kissed and spent some time on her bed, sitting silently in embrace. They eventually went down, hand in hand, and walked into the living room where the others were. Everyone's jaws fell open and George thought, 'Well, that's all of them. I guess I'm gonna have to lay some rules down. Just in case...'
The children mobbed around the new couple demanding to know how it happened and how long it's been brewing for and all that. George snuck away to the phone and called for take out, then he sat in the kitchen with a glass of champagne until the noise in the living room died down. When it did, he reentered and made some announcements,
"Well, congratulations you two." He said "Yes well I have noticed, that you all seemed to have, 'paired-up'. Though this is very wonderful and I am happy for all of you. But, it also means that I expect all of you to show a sense of responsibility control yourselves, I have nothing against your relationships but I do not want any of you to go too far. Of course, what I'm talking about is, NO SEX!" he yelled the last part.
The children stared at him in shock, "George, how could...I mean, you didn't think we're that...bad do you?" Shinji asked.
"No of course not, but as a responsible guardian to you all, I needed to make things VERY clear. But I have confidence in you all that you're not going to disappoint me, right?"
They nodded.
"Good, well, I think dinner is about to arrive. So to the dinning room."
Dinner was enjoyable, they had fun telling each other about their relationships and were delighted for each other. Asuka however, had hatched a plan, which she informed the others on, except George, and they put it to action.
"George?" she asked.
"Yes Asuka?" he answered looking up from his plate. "What is it?"
"Well, you said you trusted us right?" she continued.
"Yes...and?" "So...I want to spend more time with my Shinji, so can you let us share a room, please? We swear we'll behave." She begged.
George chocked on his drink and fell from his chair. He straightened up and yelled "WHAT!?" He was about to refuse her when...
Rei butted in, "George, you did say you had faith in us. If you truly do, you would trust Asuka and Shinji with sharing a room. Also, they have sworn to act accordingly, I see no reason for you to refuse."
"But...but..." He stuttered, he realized that they had this planned and that he was at a disadvantage. "All right, if you promise...and on two conditions." He said.
"What?" Shinji asked.
"One, I will check on you every now and then to make sure you're keeping it in line. Two, if I hear anything even remotely suspicious, I'm gonna separate you, got it?"
"Fine." Asuak and Shinji said.
"Then go, and I hope that I'm doing the right thing." George said putting his head down on the table in defeat.
Asuka was beyond happy, she dragged Shinji off to help clean out her stuff and move it into his room. George sat in his chair rubbing his temples when he heard someone cough. He looked up and saw the rest of the children looking at him expectantly.
"Oh no, not...you guys too?" he wailed.
"Yep, of course." Rei said.
George sighed "The same thing goes for you guys, you hear ?" they agreed and George let them go and prepare to move. He then retired to the kitchen and took out several bottles of fine champagne all the while hoping that they would not make him regret his decision.
"This is great Shinji!" Asuka exclaimed, while packing her clothes into some suitcases.
"Yeah, but that wasn't nice what you did to George. He's gonna have a headache tonight." He said.
She laughed "Don't worry, he'll live, now help me with the shoe boxes..."
They continued to pack and move things to Shinji's room and eventually everything has been moved. Then they proceed to organize things, Asuka took over the closet space and half the drawers, it was a good thing Shinji did not have too many possessions. The others were all doing the same thing, and Hikari and Toji were the only ones with space issues. Rei had less than Shinji and Kensuke didn't exactly own a lot either so they were fine. But Toji and Hikari had plenty of stuff so Kensuke and Rei stored some of Toji's less necessary items. Toji was most grateful and Kensuke was going to say he wanted something in return but Rei pulled him away by his ear. So they moved comfortable into each other's rooms and showered for the night. Soon they were sleeping happily with their arms over their partners. Poor George was faced with sending the daily report to Nerv and getting chewed out by the Colonel and the Commander. He decided, therefore, to withhold the information for the moment. He went to bed after another bottle and fell asleep.
The children woke up in each other's company and warmth and were quite happy with the new arrangements, they looked at their clocks and are surprised to see that it was 7:00am and George hadn't called them for training like he usually does. Asuka and Shinji leave their room and meet Toji and Hikari in the hall.
"Where's George?" Toji asked.
"Don't know." Asuka answered.
Rei and Kensuke joined them, "Should we check in his room?" Rei asked.
They looked at the door at the end of the hall, George's room. They approach the door and ease it open, Shinji pokes his head in and they all go it together. It was a small room, it had a desk with a computer and some papers on it, a closet with trench coats and pants spilling out, and a bed on the other side. In it was George, still asleep. Shinji and Asuka thought something was familiar about this...then they remembered what he had been doing last night.
"Shit, he has a hangover!" Asuka said looking at the bottles around the room.
"Not another drunk!" Shinji cried. "Why are all our guardians alcoholics!?"
George stirred, "Oh shit...my head..." He saw the kids, "Huh? What are you guys doing here?" he said yawning.
"Um...you had too much champagne and overslept George." Hikari said.
"What?" he said groggily and looked at the clock. "No...I didn't."
"What about morning training?" Toji asked.
"Oh, no...None of that stuff...not today. Concert, no training today. I didn't tell you guys?" he mumbled, still unsteady.
"No." Rei said.
"Oh, well, I was too busy thinking about your new, 'arrangements'. Ow...head...pain..." and he fell back down onto the bed.
They stared the semi-conscious form of their guardian.
"Well, it might be wise to just leave him here until we have to go." Rei suggested.
"Yeah, let's head down for breakfast." Hikari said.
They went down to the dinning room and waited while Hikari and Shinji headed into the kitchen to do some cooking. Shinji went to the cupboard to get the pepper and noticed that the cupboard that George used for his wine was unlocked today. He took a peek in and gasped, rows after rows of choice wine and champagne. He quickly shut it and returned to his cooking,
'How do people handle that stuff?' he asked himself. His former guardian, Misato, had once left some beers out. Asuka and he decided to have a sip and gagged on the stuff, it was horrible. Hikari came over and asked him where the pepper was, he had forgotten about it. He went back to get it and locked the wine cabinet while he was at it.
"And Shinji, we'll need to go shopping for groceries again today." She added when he handed over the pepper.
They finished the breakfast of miso soup and rice balls. The others had been waiting impatiently and ate franticly when Shinji set the food down. Asuka was eating the most and he thought about how she was able to keep her figure from the way she usually ate.
She noticed him staring at her and decided to have some fun. "What are you staring at Shinji-kun? Is it my breast?"
He choked on his rice ball and tried to tell her that he was only staring at her face but she was too busy laughing. Rei had seen the whole thing and was puzzled at why Asuka had asked Shinji that when he was so obviously looking her directly in the face.
"Aida-kun, why does Sohryu insists that Shinji is looking at her chest when his eyes are plainly focused on her face?" she asked her boyfriend next to her.
"Oh, she just likes teasing him." He answered swallowing, "That and she is way too overconfident about her features."
Rei nodded, then she asked "And what do you think of my features?" It was a good thing Kensuke had nothing in his mouth at the moment, he was surprised that Rei would just ask that so suddenly.
"Rei, I think you're beautiful of course." She smiled at that and kissed him on the cheek.
"You look very handsome yourself Kensuke." He kissed her back.
Shinji whistled from across the table and Kensuke chucked a wad up napkin at him. Toji and Hikari had their arms over each other's shoulder and watched as Shinji chased Kensuke across the room. They only stopped when Asuka and Rei came out to drag their own boyfriend back to the table. They washed the dishes together and then took out their instruments for some last minute check ups and tuning. At 7:35am they sent Shinji up to either wake George or haul him out if he had to. Shinji entered the room and found George awake and getting dressed. George turned at the door swinging open and greeted him.
"Hey Shinji, whoo wee! That stuff finally wore off a little bit. But I'm going to have to be careful when I'm driving. Good thing the school's close by."
"Oh yeah, we're ready to go anytime." Shinji said.
George tossed him his keys, "Just load all the instruments into the back of the van first, I'll be out shortly."
Shinji left. George went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Outside the kids managed to fit everything into the van but it would be an uncomfortable ride, they had to put come of the drums under the seats and stuff. George came running out in a few minutes and they were off. George drove slowly even though they were a little late because he was unsure of his condition and did not want to risk it. Hikari complained that as Class Rep, it was not very good for her to be late. They pulled into the car park next to the school and ran to class. They burst into the classroom to find no one in there.
"Oh yeah, the field!" they ran to the back of the school to the field where they had gym class. There, they found the whole school gathered. It also turned out that it was all ok as it was Concert Day and no one bothered with being tardy and Class Rep duties, much to Hikari's disappointment. They were not to go for a while so they just watched the other contestant's performances. They included a variety of music from rap to classical but so far no metal yet. When it was their turn they were met with plenty of cheers from the crowd.
"Hello!" Asuka yelled into her microphone "We're will be playing The Call of Ktulu today, and also I disappear, enjoy!"
The cheers continued. For the next nine minutes they played Ktulu and at the end of it, more applause. Then Shinji, Hikari and Rei got up and the remaining four began I disappear. Asuka began the rift, then George and Kensuke started singing the lyrics while playing.
(Hey Hey Hey Here I go now Here I go into new days Hey Hey Hey Here I go now Here I go into new days I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Yeah Hey Hey Hey Yeah Yeah Here I go into new days
Hey Hey Hey Ain't no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me Hey Hey Hey Ain't no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Yeah yeah hey hey no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Hey Hey Hey And I went And I went on down that road Hey Hey Hey And I went on And I went on down that road I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Hey Hey Hey Yeah And I went on And I went on down that road
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear Disappear)
Asuka then breaks out in her solo. The boys in the crowd scream, Shinji is annoyed.
(I'm gone I'm gone I'm gone Oh yeah I'm gone I'm gone I'm gone baby I'm gone I'm gone
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear Disappear)
The field shook with applause the other three pilots return to the stage and they all bow. They descended and mingled into the crowd. Rei and Kensuke, along with Hikari and Toji, went to visit some friends in the cafeteria and George's cell phone rang so he dashed to find a quiet place to take it. Shinji and Asuka were walking around the school building when they met up with the jerk Shiro. This time, he had friends with him and his arms were in casts.
"Well well, if it isn't Miss Sohryu. And the wimp boy too." He sneered. His buddies laughed.
"Well well, if it isn't the scum with the broken arms." Asuka retorted.
Shiro 's face darkened, "Hump! Your 'brother' isn't here to save your ass this time!" he roared. He jerked his head at Shinji and his two friends made for him.
Shinji calmly stood where he was with out a trace of fear. 'I must belive in what I can do.' He thought.
"SHINJI! MOVE!" Asuka screamed. Shinji's arms shot out at the last second and the two attackers stopped, they looked confused for a moment, then they looked down, saw his fist embedded into their stomachs, and crumpled to the floor. Asuka and Shiro stared at Shinji in shock.
"YOU!...HOW!?" Shiro yelled, then he went for Shinji himself.
Shinji sidestepped and grabbed the boy rushing past by his neck and forced him to the ground. He tried to rise but Shinji put his foot down on his back and stopped him.
"Never go near my girlfriend again Shiro, or I'll be breaking your legs, then you would be totally crippled." He said.
Shiro got on his knees and thanked Shinji for his mercy and sped out of there. Asuka came up to him, "Shinji...since when?" she asked weakly.
He looked at Shiro's two friends on the floor, "Let's walk elsewhere." He suggested.
They walked slowly towards the main building and Shinji told her about his night training sessions.
"Well, why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.
"I was thinking that if you found out, you'd expect me to be able to protect you all the time. And I didn't believe that I could live up to that." He said. She opened her mouth but he stopped her. "But George showed me that that I had no reason to keep doubting myself, but I never told you anyways. I'm sorry Asuka."
Asuka stopped and looked into his brown eyes, "You went through that, so you could protect me?"
Shinji nodded, "Yes, I will not let anyone harm you from now on Asuka."
She smiled at him, the same kind of smile he saw when he pulled her out of the volcano, and when he held her after the twelfth Angel was defeated. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. Shinji was taken back for a second, but soon lost himself in the kiss.
"Oh, and Shinji?" she said lowering herself back down flat on her feet.
"Yeah?"
"Stop saying sorry all the time."
"Yes, dear."
George stood near the building and saw the two kissing, he smiled and looked away to give them privacy. He had seen a beat up looking Shiro run from this direction towards the nurse's office a while ago and had walked this way to see if anything was going on.
From the looks of things Shinji had handled it by himself, 'Well done Shinji. I'm proud of you, I'm glad that I was able to help.' He turned around and went to find the rest of the children.
A/N: Chapter 9 is here now, enjoy. DIE FLAMERS! DIE! BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELLLLLLL!!!!!! YOU AND YOUR STUPID FLAMING REVIEWS! BUUUURRRRNNNNN!!!!!!!! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Next Chapter: Of Music and Angels Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own Evangelion and its characters. Again, I do not have the rights to Metallica or their songs. All I own are my own characters and the plot. I'm just a fan ok? Not making any profits here so don't sue me!
A/N: Here's chapter nine.
Sunday pasted by in a storm of non-stop practice for the concert the next day, Toji was especially worn out from the furious drum banging and was currently sitting in the bathtub in his bathroom, the tub was filled with ice. Downstairs, Kesuke was having loads of fun on his base, which he had been neglecting for a while before this. Rei was also enjoying herself on the keyboard and was practicing to keep tempo with the other instruments, with smiles from Kensuke as encouragement. Asuka was showing off a solo to Shinji, who had his hands to his ears because he couldn't stand the volume. Asuka took this personally,
"Hey! Baka! I'm ripping up a great solo just for you and you plug up your ears!?"
"I'm sorry Asuka, it's just that the volume is a bit too loud for me." He said.
"Well why didn't you say so!?" she turned the volume down and cranked up the distortion.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" she screamed and the red Mockingbird guitar she used screamed louder.
George was looking over the tabs again and again and played parts on his black Warlock guitar, making sure he had them down. Hikari was playing her flute with Shinji on Cello but when he took a break to visit Asuka she too decided to rest and went upstairs to see if Toji was ok.
She came before his door and knocked,
"Toji? How's your ice bath?"
"Hi..Hikari! Oh...err, I'm good! Hold on!"
She heard, sounds of someone running around were heard then the door opened, revealing a Toji with only a towel wrapped around him.
"Hikari! So what brings you here?"
Trying to ignore his state of dress she answered "Oh...uh, I'm taking a break, so I thought I'd come to check how you are. So does your back still ache?"
"Oh, yeah, a little. The ice helped a bit."
She smiled "Well, why don't you go and put on a pair of pants first."
He looked down and blushed, dashing to his bathroom. Hikari stepped into the room and eased the door shut behind her. She went over to his bed and noticed her picture on the bedside table, she gasped and examined it. It was from a school picnic last year, she wondered if this meant...
"Ok Hikari, what were you saying?" Toji asked stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in shorts and a tight black t-shirt.
She quickly put down the picture and turned to him, "Oh, I err...just wanted to help you with your aches."
"Huh?" Toji said.
She motioned him onto the bed and he obeyed. Next thing he felt was a pair of hands relaxing the muscles around his neck and shoulders.
"Oh Hikari, that feels great!" She smiled and continued to release the stress from his back muscles and getting some moans out of Toji, who felt like he was in heaven. She stopped after a while and sat down on the bed next to him. "Ohh...thank you Hikari, that was wonderful."
"You're welcome Toji." She said, she was debating whether to ask him about the picture and made up her mind. "Toji, how come you have my picture next to your bed?"
Toji was taken by surprised 'Toji you're so stupid! Why did you leave it on your bed table!?' he thought.
"Um...Hikari, don't be mad, I just...um...." He tried to think of a reason and came up with nothing.
She looked at his reaction, "Toji, what's on your mind?"
Toji looked at her in the eyes and threw what caution and hesitation he had to the winds, "Well...you see I...have a c..c..crushonyou!" He said the last part really fast, already dreading how she would take this.
"Do you really mean it?" she said after a few minutes of silence.
"I would never lied about something like this!" he replied.
Hikari said nothing, and her face was blank. She simply motioned him to follow her. He did, and she led him to her room and motioned him in. Toji looked around and notice something familiar...on the beside table there was also a picture...of him!
"Hikari? I..." he stammered.
She smiled at him "You know, I like you too Toji."
He stared at her, mouth opening and closing without sound. "Toji...?" she asked, unsure what his reaction meant.
He shook himself and then grinned, "Hikari, that's great!" he gathered her in a big hug and she breathed a sigh of relief.
They kissed and spent some time on her bed, sitting silently in embrace. They eventually went down, hand in hand, and walked into the living room where the others were. Everyone's jaws fell open and George thought, 'Well, that's all of them. I guess I'm gonna have to lay some rules down. Just in case...'
The children mobbed around the new couple demanding to know how it happened and how long it's been brewing for and all that. George snuck away to the phone and called for take out, then he sat in the kitchen with a glass of champagne until the noise in the living room died down. When it did, he reentered and made some announcements,
"Well, congratulations you two." He said "Yes well I have noticed, that you all seemed to have, 'paired-up'. Though this is very wonderful and I am happy for all of you. But, it also means that I expect all of you to show a sense of responsibility control yourselves, I have nothing against your relationships but I do not want any of you to go too far. Of course, what I'm talking about is, NO SEX!" he yelled the last part.
The children stared at him in shock, "George, how could...I mean, you didn't think we're that...bad do you?" Shinji asked.
"No of course not, but as a responsible guardian to you all, I needed to make things VERY clear. But I have confidence in you all that you're not going to disappoint me, right?"
They nodded.
"Good, well, I think dinner is about to arrive. So to the dinning room."
Dinner was enjoyable, they had fun telling each other about their relationships and were delighted for each other. Asuka however, had hatched a plan, which she informed the others on, except George, and they put it to action.
"George?" she asked.
"Yes Asuka?" he answered looking up from his plate. "What is it?"
"Well, you said you trusted us right?" she continued.
"Yes...and?" "So...I want to spend more time with my Shinji, so can you let us share a room, please? We swear we'll behave." She begged.
George chocked on his drink and fell from his chair. He straightened up and yelled "WHAT!?" He was about to refuse her when...
Rei butted in, "George, you did say you had faith in us. If you truly do, you would trust Asuka and Shinji with sharing a room. Also, they have sworn to act accordingly, I see no reason for you to refuse."
"But...but..." He stuttered, he realized that they had this planned and that he was at a disadvantage. "All right, if you promise...and on two conditions." He said.
"What?" Shinji asked.
"One, I will check on you every now and then to make sure you're keeping it in line. Two, if I hear anything even remotely suspicious, I'm gonna separate you, got it?"
"Fine." Asuak and Shinji said.
"Then go, and I hope that I'm doing the right thing." George said putting his head down on the table in defeat.
Asuka was beyond happy, she dragged Shinji off to help clean out her stuff and move it into his room. George sat in his chair rubbing his temples when he heard someone cough. He looked up and saw the rest of the children looking at him expectantly.
"Oh no, not...you guys too?" he wailed.
"Yep, of course." Rei said.
George sighed "The same thing goes for you guys, you hear ?" they agreed and George let them go and prepare to move. He then retired to the kitchen and took out several bottles of fine champagne all the while hoping that they would not make him regret his decision.
"This is great Shinji!" Asuka exclaimed, while packing her clothes into some suitcases.
"Yeah, but that wasn't nice what you did to George. He's gonna have a headache tonight." He said.
She laughed "Don't worry, he'll live, now help me with the shoe boxes..."
They continued to pack and move things to Shinji's room and eventually everything has been moved. Then they proceed to organize things, Asuka took over the closet space and half the drawers, it was a good thing Shinji did not have too many possessions. The others were all doing the same thing, and Hikari and Toji were the only ones with space issues. Rei had less than Shinji and Kensuke didn't exactly own a lot either so they were fine. But Toji and Hikari had plenty of stuff so Kensuke and Rei stored some of Toji's less necessary items. Toji was most grateful and Kensuke was going to say he wanted something in return but Rei pulled him away by his ear. So they moved comfortable into each other's rooms and showered for the night. Soon they were sleeping happily with their arms over their partners. Poor George was faced with sending the daily report to Nerv and getting chewed out by the Colonel and the Commander. He decided, therefore, to withhold the information for the moment. He went to bed after another bottle and fell asleep.
The children woke up in each other's company and warmth and were quite happy with the new arrangements, they looked at their clocks and are surprised to see that it was 7:00am and George hadn't called them for training like he usually does. Asuka and Shinji leave their room and meet Toji and Hikari in the hall.
"Where's George?" Toji asked.
"Don't know." Asuka answered.
Rei and Kensuke joined them, "Should we check in his room?" Rei asked.
They looked at the door at the end of the hall, George's room. They approach the door and ease it open, Shinji pokes his head in and they all go it together. It was a small room, it had a desk with a computer and some papers on it, a closet with trench coats and pants spilling out, and a bed on the other side. In it was George, still asleep. Shinji and Asuka thought something was familiar about this...then they remembered what he had been doing last night.
"Shit, he has a hangover!" Asuka said looking at the bottles around the room.
"Not another drunk!" Shinji cried. "Why are all our guardians alcoholics!?"
George stirred, "Oh shit...my head..." He saw the kids, "Huh? What are you guys doing here?" he said yawning.
"Um...you had too much champagne and overslept George." Hikari said.
"What?" he said groggily and looked at the clock. "No...I didn't."
"What about morning training?" Toji asked.
"Oh, no...None of that stuff...not today. Concert, no training today. I didn't tell you guys?" he mumbled, still unsteady.
"No." Rei said.
"Oh, well, I was too busy thinking about your new, 'arrangements'. Ow...head...pain..." and he fell back down onto the bed.
They stared the semi-conscious form of their guardian.
"Well, it might be wise to just leave him here until we have to go." Rei suggested.
"Yeah, let's head down for breakfast." Hikari said.
They went down to the dinning room and waited while Hikari and Shinji headed into the kitchen to do some cooking. Shinji went to the cupboard to get the pepper and noticed that the cupboard that George used for his wine was unlocked today. He took a peek in and gasped, rows after rows of choice wine and champagne. He quickly shut it and returned to his cooking,
'How do people handle that stuff?' he asked himself. His former guardian, Misato, had once left some beers out. Asuka and he decided to have a sip and gagged on the stuff, it was horrible. Hikari came over and asked him where the pepper was, he had forgotten about it. He went back to get it and locked the wine cabinet while he was at it.
"And Shinji, we'll need to go shopping for groceries again today." She added when he handed over the pepper.
They finished the breakfast of miso soup and rice balls. The others had been waiting impatiently and ate franticly when Shinji set the food down. Asuka was eating the most and he thought about how she was able to keep her figure from the way she usually ate.
She noticed him staring at her and decided to have some fun. "What are you staring at Shinji-kun? Is it my breast?"
He choked on his rice ball and tried to tell her that he was only staring at her face but she was too busy laughing. Rei had seen the whole thing and was puzzled at why Asuka had asked Shinji that when he was so obviously looking her directly in the face.
"Aida-kun, why does Sohryu insists that Shinji is looking at her chest when his eyes are plainly focused on her face?" she asked her boyfriend next to her.
"Oh, she just likes teasing him." He answered swallowing, "That and she is way too overconfident about her features."
Rei nodded, then she asked "And what do you think of my features?" It was a good thing Kensuke had nothing in his mouth at the moment, he was surprised that Rei would just ask that so suddenly.
"Rei, I think you're beautiful of course." She smiled at that and kissed him on the cheek.
"You look very handsome yourself Kensuke." He kissed her back.
Shinji whistled from across the table and Kensuke chucked a wad up napkin at him. Toji and Hikari had their arms over each other's shoulder and watched as Shinji chased Kensuke across the room. They only stopped when Asuka and Rei came out to drag their own boyfriend back to the table. They washed the dishes together and then took out their instruments for some last minute check ups and tuning. At 7:35am they sent Shinji up to either wake George or haul him out if he had to. Shinji entered the room and found George awake and getting dressed. George turned at the door swinging open and greeted him.
"Hey Shinji, whoo wee! That stuff finally wore off a little bit. But I'm going to have to be careful when I'm driving. Good thing the school's close by."
"Oh yeah, we're ready to go anytime." Shinji said.
George tossed him his keys, "Just load all the instruments into the back of the van first, I'll be out shortly."
Shinji left. George went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Outside the kids managed to fit everything into the van but it would be an uncomfortable ride, they had to put come of the drums under the seats and stuff. George came running out in a few minutes and they were off. George drove slowly even though they were a little late because he was unsure of his condition and did not want to risk it. Hikari complained that as Class Rep, it was not very good for her to be late. They pulled into the car park next to the school and ran to class. They burst into the classroom to find no one in there.
"Oh yeah, the field!" they ran to the back of the school to the field where they had gym class. There, they found the whole school gathered. It also turned out that it was all ok as it was Concert Day and no one bothered with being tardy and Class Rep duties, much to Hikari's disappointment. They were not to go for a while so they just watched the other contestant's performances. They included a variety of music from rap to classical but so far no metal yet. When it was their turn they were met with plenty of cheers from the crowd.
"Hello!" Asuka yelled into her microphone "We're will be playing The Call of Ktulu today, and also I disappear, enjoy!"
The cheers continued. For the next nine minutes they played Ktulu and at the end of it, more applause. Then Shinji, Hikari and Rei got up and the remaining four began I disappear. Asuka began the rift, then George and Kensuke started singing the lyrics while playing.
(Hey Hey Hey Here I go now Here I go into new days Hey Hey Hey Here I go now Here I go into new days I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Yeah Hey Hey Hey Yeah Yeah Here I go into new days
Hey Hey Hey Ain't no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me Hey Hey Hey Ain't no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Yeah yeah hey hey no mercy Ain't no mercy there for me
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Hey Hey Hey And I went And I went on down that road Hey Hey Hey And I went on And I went on down that road I'm pain, I'm hope, I'm suffer Hey Hey Hey Yeah And I went on And I went on down that road
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear Disappear)
Asuka then breaks out in her solo. The boys in the crowd scream, Shinji is annoyed.
(I'm gone I'm gone I'm gone Oh yeah I'm gone I'm gone I'm gone baby I'm gone I'm gone
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here Just as soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear Disappear)
The field shook with applause the other three pilots return to the stage and they all bow. They descended and mingled into the crowd. Rei and Kensuke, along with Hikari and Toji, went to visit some friends in the cafeteria and George's cell phone rang so he dashed to find a quiet place to take it. Shinji and Asuka were walking around the school building when they met up with the jerk Shiro. This time, he had friends with him and his arms were in casts.
"Well well, if it isn't Miss Sohryu. And the wimp boy too." He sneered. His buddies laughed.
"Well well, if it isn't the scum with the broken arms." Asuka retorted.
Shiro 's face darkened, "Hump! Your 'brother' isn't here to save your ass this time!" he roared. He jerked his head at Shinji and his two friends made for him.
Shinji calmly stood where he was with out a trace of fear. 'I must belive in what I can do.' He thought.
"SHINJI! MOVE!" Asuka screamed. Shinji's arms shot out at the last second and the two attackers stopped, they looked confused for a moment, then they looked down, saw his fist embedded into their stomachs, and crumpled to the floor. Asuka and Shiro stared at Shinji in shock.
"YOU!...HOW!?" Shiro yelled, then he went for Shinji himself.
Shinji sidestepped and grabbed the boy rushing past by his neck and forced him to the ground. He tried to rise but Shinji put his foot down on his back and stopped him.
"Never go near my girlfriend again Shiro, or I'll be breaking your legs, then you would be totally crippled." He said.
Shiro got on his knees and thanked Shinji for his mercy and sped out of there. Asuka came up to him, "Shinji...since when?" she asked weakly.
He looked at Shiro's two friends on the floor, "Let's walk elsewhere." He suggested.
They walked slowly towards the main building and Shinji told her about his night training sessions.
"Well, why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.
"I was thinking that if you found out, you'd expect me to be able to protect you all the time. And I didn't believe that I could live up to that." He said. She opened her mouth but he stopped her. "But George showed me that that I had no reason to keep doubting myself, but I never told you anyways. I'm sorry Asuka."
Asuka stopped and looked into his brown eyes, "You went through that, so you could protect me?"
Shinji nodded, "Yes, I will not let anyone harm you from now on Asuka."
She smiled at him, the same kind of smile he saw when he pulled her out of the volcano, and when he held her after the twelfth Angel was defeated. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. Shinji was taken back for a second, but soon lost himself in the kiss.
"Oh, and Shinji?" she said lowering herself back down flat on her feet.
"Yeah?"
"Stop saying sorry all the time."
"Yes, dear."
George stood near the building and saw the two kissing, he smiled and looked away to give them privacy. He had seen a beat up looking Shiro run from this direction towards the nurse's office a while ago and had walked this way to see if anything was going on.
From the looks of things Shinji had handled it by himself, 'Well done Shinji. I'm proud of you, I'm glad that I was able to help.' He turned around and went to find the rest of the children.
A/N: Chapter 9 is here now, enjoy. DIE FLAMERS! DIE! BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELLLLLLL!!!!!! YOU AND YOUR STUPID FLAMING REVIEWS! BUUUURRRRNNNNN!!!!!!!! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Next Chapter: Of Music and Angels Part 2
