He had been worried about boring her during the long ride. Shinji was
not a fast driver like Misato; he enjoyed going along at his own
leisurely pace, and unlike a trip through Tokyo-3, a trip through
California could get boring easily with the repetitive forests and
occasional glimpse of ocean. Maybe she'd like to go to the beach
sometime.
Shinji glanced at the clock and noted that they had been driving for nearly two hours. Asuka sat in the passenger's seat, to his right, and had her forehead pressed against the window.
"Are you hot?"
She turned abruptly and smiled. "No, I'm fine."
Pause.
They stopped for lunch in a local restaurant while passing through a small town. Shinji ordered a burger without even looking at the menu; Asuka wavered between a salad and spaghetti and finally settled on the noodles. When the waiter brought their orders, however, she found the sauce foreign and scraped most of it off before bringing it to her mouth. On their way back to the car Shinji stopped at a roadside stand and purchased a sack of oranges.
Asuka stopped with her thumb midway through the peel. A gentle spray of citric acid sprayed out and coated her knuckles.
"Something wrong?" Shinji glanced at her in the rearview mirror. Asuka noticed the concern in his honest brown eyes and quickly smiled.
"No, nothing."
Shinji smiled.
Asuka was thinking of her first days after waking from the long coma. Her nurse had brought her oranges, and she recalled the first joys of peeling off the thick, rubbery outside. She dug her thumb deep under the peel and pulled upward. The fruit emitted a soft tearing sound as she ripped away the peel.
How far I've come since then.
They were driving into yet another wooded road, and the leaves of the overhead canopy shredded the sunlight so that only fine slivers showered down on the hot metal of Shinji's car. He drummed his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel and swallowed a yawn.
Asuka had awakened before him that morning, and was already wandering around the house fully dressed when he had wandered into the kitchen, only half-awake. Slightly embarrassed, he had hurried to make pancakes and pack a bag with anything they might need during the day. By nine, they were out the door and heading down the street.
"Is that it?" Asuka asked, her voice breaking into his reflections. He followed the direction of her finger—sure enough, partially obscured by the curve in the road, was a large billboard reading: SeaWorld, 15 miles. "Fifteen miles. That's not very far, is it?" she asked carefully, in clipped English.
He chuckled at her cautious tone. "No, it's not far." She beamed, and he went on to compliment, "I'm impressed with your English."
The redhead grinned a little, then switched back to Japanese. "I was surprised, too, by just how much I remembered...when I first got off the plane and realized I could understand most of what people around me were saying." She glanced out the window, donning a serious expression. "I don't know where I learned it, though... I practiced a little with Misato before I left Japan, and she guessed that I studied it in college in Germany."
That's right, she went to college in Germany before coming to Japan. And she tutored me in thermal expansion.
"Did I ever talk to you in English... back... then?"
"I don't think so," Shinji tried to recall. "You were a genius, but you sometimes had a hard time with tests at school because you couldn't read the kanji."
There was a short pause in which Asuka smiled to herself, trying to dig up these childhood memories that she had shared with Shinji. They were buried somewhere deep within the crevices of her fourteen-year-old mind, hidden from the twenty-six year old young woman.
"There's another sign," Asuka pointed out, getting excited now. The billboard proclaimed "SeaWorld" in large bold letters, half black and blue, against a background of waves and dolphins. "Oh, I can't wait."
"I can't either," Shinji added, and it was the truth; he had not been to SeaWorld in several years, since he and Kensuke had promptly been asked to leave after the avid photographer sneaked into the back of the penguin exhibit, attempting to get a close-up picture. The result was a loud commotion involving many wet feathers and one very disgruntled guard. Needless to mention, no useful photos were produced.
Twenty minutes later Shinji pulled into a parking space after weaving in and out of the tour buses. Asuka all but ran out of the car, eager to stretch her legs, and Shinji had to chase after her. She laughed as he did so, her long hair streaming in the soft breeze. God, he would never get tired of hearing her laugh. He paid for the tickets and took her hand as they raced toward the Dolphin Discovery—Shinji had no intention of being left behind again. Unfortunately, much to their dismay, it was closed and the next show was not for several hours—so they headed towards the flamingo exhibit instead.
They took their time, stopping to take a look every now and then in a gift shop. There were a variety of trees and flowers scattered throughout the park, and Asuka wanted to stop to admire all of them. Shinji fumbled through his pack for a camera and snapped a picture of the redhead kneeling beside a cluster of wild lilies.
Asuka noticed a foul stench and asked, "What is that smell?"
Shinji didn't like it any better than she did, but he was afraid that the truth would make her want to turn back. He replied, "You'll see in a minute," and immediately regretted it, but the redhead only smiled and squeezed his hand. They passed a large clump of ferns—then—
"Oh my gosh!"
One fat pink flamingo looked up at her star-struck face, fluffed out its feathers, then went back to hunting for food in the shallow water.
All Shinji wanted to do was hold his nose and back away as far as he could. Asuka, on the other hand, went closer—and leaned in towards the birds.
"How can their legs hold them up?" she marveled aloud. "They're so skinny! And their necks so long!"
As if in reply, one particularly fat flamingo hoisted up one leg into his feathers and tucked his head under his wing. The girl watched in amazement as the bird remained perfectly balanced on his other skinny leg.
"Asuka." Shinji's voice was strained and rather funny sounding, as he was pinching his nose.
"Sorry." She hurried away from the murky swamp. Shinji gasped for air as they ran, making her laugh.
Their next stop was to see the penguins, which were housed inside a large, partially lit facility, which was maintained at an extremely low temperature. Containing this cubicle was a darkened room with a series of steps facing the penguins, where viewers sat. However, so many eager children were pressing against the glass of the penguins' home that it was nearly impossible to see anything but dark human heads from the staircase, so Shinji and Asuka made their way up to the front.
"It's Pen-pen!" Asuka whispered, "...except without the red tufted feathers on his head."
Shinji was rather preoccupied with hoping that the guards wouldn't recognize him.
Pen-pen sleeps in Misato's freezer, but he still loves to come out and play in normal temperatures, Asuka thought. A group of penguins lined up neatly on an icy edge and, one by one, hopped into the water. How dreadful it must be to live here, in this cold and dark place.
Having lived with a penguin for a good amount of time, Asuka didn't find the penguins nearly as amusing as the fat flamingoes, and was soon ready to leave. When she stepped back, however, her foot landed on someone else's—and that someone else let out a soft wince.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Asuka quickly supplied. But the girl's face held no emotion, even as she raised it to meet Asuka's gaze.
She was a young girl, only about four or five, but it was her hair that caught and held Asuka's gaze for several moments. It was blue, an icy cold blue that chilled Asuka as it eerily reflected the faint glow of the penguins' habitat—
"Rei?"
The girl's face was alight against the dark background; shadows danced on her face; unconsciously Asuka had already blocked out the senseless chatter of those around her—
"I am not Rei," she said levelly, in a voice that was much too old for a child her age.
"I'm sorry," Asuka apologized. "I—I just thought..."
The spell broke. The Rei-like child became a normal girl caught up in the excitement of summer vacation. She gazed up at Asuka with large, fearful eyes, then ran—amazing, thought Asuka, that eyes which were just a moment ago so devoid of all feeling could suddenly make all the difference in whether she was a memory or a real, live child.
That didn't make sense. She shook herself, trying to rid herself of the cold feeling the child had given her.
"Shall we go?" she asked Shinji, rather anxious to get out of the dark confines of the penguin house.
= = = = = = =
Several hours later Asuka was eating a three-colored Popsicle and had managed to stain her tongue ocean blue. Shinji was working on an ice cream sandwich and had to lick frantically to keep it from dripping as he checked his watch. "The Dolphin Discovery starts in fifteen minutes."
They made it just in time and selected seats in the eleventh row, where they would get a perfect view. Asuka had never seen a dolphin nor a killer whale before and Shinji had been kicked out before getting to attend the show last time, so naturally both were quite excited.
Until they got soaked.
Asuka screamed and dived for cover behind Shinji, who unfortunately took the full drenching. A brief intermission took place, as guests grumbled and moaned about the 55-degree seawater. Shinji spit a mouthful of it onto the back of the seat in front of him.
"Sorry," Asuka apologized in a small voice. Shinji shrugged, evidently not mad.
They watched several trainers feed and swim with the dolphins and killer whales. At one point they called for a volunteer, and Asuka raised her hand high—but they chose a little blonde boy who was not yet eight. A trainer guided him onto the whale's back and handed him fish to throw into the animal's mouth. Asuka was disappointed.
"Well, at least you're dry," Shinji commented helpfully as they passed the boy on the way out. He was now howling about the salt water in his eyes, and nothing his mother did would shush him. The father stood off to the side, looking rather red and embarrassed.
"Time to stop for dinner?" Shinji suggested. Asuka agreed; she hadn't noticed how hungry she was until the whale started wolfing down pounds of fish.
She chose the restaurant. It was a small café with tables set up outside and umbrellas to shade the occupants while they ate. Asuka opted for the salad this time, while Shinji wavered between two types of sandwiches and finally wound up getting one of each.
"I'm hungry!" he protested teasingly.
Asuka sat cross-legged, comfortably shaded by the umbrella, and watched people walk by. There was a short black metal fence separating the café from the rest of the park, and just beyond it several evergreen bushes flourished. She stabbed at a piece of tomato with her fork and chewed slowly, enjoying herself. Out on the brick path, an impatient child ran on ahead of his parents, throwing a stuffed animal dolphin into the air and catching it repeatedly.
Shinji followed her gaze, as he had done so many times that day. "You want one?"
"Oh, no," she said, and turned back to her salad. They finished their meal in silence.
"I'm going to use the restroom." Shinji stood up. "If the waiter comes, tell him to wait one moment."
Asuka nodded as Shinji disappeared into the gift shop alongside the café. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the waiter speaking courteously to another couple. No, she thought, blushing furiously, we are not a couple—although I do like Shinji-kun very much—
Please wait one moment, she thought quickly, repeating the English words under her breath, so that she would be ready should the waiter happened to come by. Please wait one moment...
"Would you like the check, miss?"
Asuka blinked.
"One moment," she managed to get out, and then added, "please..."
The waited nodded, not having noticed anything out of the ordinary, and hurried off to the next table. Asuka exhaled, noting that he did not bow, as any sensible Japanese would have done. She stretched her legs and let her sandals scrape on the brick-laid floor. She wondered what Misato was doing—then again, it was night in Tokyo-3, so Misato was presumably asleep.
Shinji returned a moment later, surprising her with his seemingly sudden appearance in front of her.
= = = = = = =
They didn't head back until it was dark, and had it not been for the magical button on Shinji's keychain that caused the lights of his car to flash and beep, they might have been lost for a very long time. Asuka climbed into the passenger's seat and kicked off her shoes immediately. Shinji got in beside her and slammed the door.
"Did you have fun today?" he asked, starting the engine. A vast array of lights flashed on across the dashboard; most faded to black within a matter of seconds.
"Yes," Asuka assured him. "I liked the flamingoes best."
"They were so smelly, though," Shinji muttered, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Asuka laughed.
Silence. Moonlight draped a soft aura around Asuka's features.
"Tomorrow won't be nearly as fun," he reminded apologetically. "I have to work..."
"That's all right," Asuka insisted. "I'd like to see where you work... I still don't know exactly what you do."
"You might not find it very interesting," he cautioned.
"That's fine."
Pause.
When Shinji glanced at her again, Asuka was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. He noted the distance to the next rest station and pulled off the road as soon as he could.
The former pilot of Eva Unit 01 walked to the back and unzipped his pack. From the largest compartment he removed a plastic bag, and from that, a stuffed animal dolphin, exactly like the one Asuka had watched another child handle. He shut the back door as quietly as he could and returned to his place in the driver's seat.
Asuka was facing towards him, and her sweet expression made him want to hold her as he gently tucked her arms around the toy. She mumbled a bit but didn't stir.
A hint of a smile crept onto Shinji's face as he restarted the engine.
Author's Notes: Guys I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter! I promise I'll try to update more often (I'm leaving for Japan and China on the 29th of June, so I'm hoping to finish it up before then).
Writing this chapter was very much like writing a school report on "What did you do over the summer?" I tried to make it interesting, but the results were—well, evidently not the best. I haven't been to SeaWorld in about four years and I relied mainly on their website, so my apologies for any glaring errors I've made.
Last time I was asked what language Asuka and Shinji communicate in. In general it's Japanese, since I figured that would be easier for Asuka, but I apparently forgot to explain where she learned English. Oops. Considering that she went to college in Germany and learned both German and Japanese, I assumed it was fairly reasonable that she had learned and been relatively fluent in English at the time of the series (roughly twelve years before this fanfic). Since she retained most of her Japanese after waking up, a sizeable amount of English came along as well, but recently she's been much more focused on speaking in Japanese than English, so it's taking our heroine a bit of effort to pick it back up.
Oh, and to Asuka201, I'll be emailing you soon!
Wow, long author's note. Drop me a review and tell me how I'm doing. Sorry again for the delay!
Shinji glanced at the clock and noted that they had been driving for nearly two hours. Asuka sat in the passenger's seat, to his right, and had her forehead pressed against the window.
"Are you hot?"
She turned abruptly and smiled. "No, I'm fine."
Pause.
They stopped for lunch in a local restaurant while passing through a small town. Shinji ordered a burger without even looking at the menu; Asuka wavered between a salad and spaghetti and finally settled on the noodles. When the waiter brought their orders, however, she found the sauce foreign and scraped most of it off before bringing it to her mouth. On their way back to the car Shinji stopped at a roadside stand and purchased a sack of oranges.
Asuka stopped with her thumb midway through the peel. A gentle spray of citric acid sprayed out and coated her knuckles.
"Something wrong?" Shinji glanced at her in the rearview mirror. Asuka noticed the concern in his honest brown eyes and quickly smiled.
"No, nothing."
Shinji smiled.
Asuka was thinking of her first days after waking from the long coma. Her nurse had brought her oranges, and she recalled the first joys of peeling off the thick, rubbery outside. She dug her thumb deep under the peel and pulled upward. The fruit emitted a soft tearing sound as she ripped away the peel.
How far I've come since then.
They were driving into yet another wooded road, and the leaves of the overhead canopy shredded the sunlight so that only fine slivers showered down on the hot metal of Shinji's car. He drummed his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel and swallowed a yawn.
Asuka had awakened before him that morning, and was already wandering around the house fully dressed when he had wandered into the kitchen, only half-awake. Slightly embarrassed, he had hurried to make pancakes and pack a bag with anything they might need during the day. By nine, they were out the door and heading down the street.
"Is that it?" Asuka asked, her voice breaking into his reflections. He followed the direction of her finger—sure enough, partially obscured by the curve in the road, was a large billboard reading: SeaWorld, 15 miles. "Fifteen miles. That's not very far, is it?" she asked carefully, in clipped English.
He chuckled at her cautious tone. "No, it's not far." She beamed, and he went on to compliment, "I'm impressed with your English."
The redhead grinned a little, then switched back to Japanese. "I was surprised, too, by just how much I remembered...when I first got off the plane and realized I could understand most of what people around me were saying." She glanced out the window, donning a serious expression. "I don't know where I learned it, though... I practiced a little with Misato before I left Japan, and she guessed that I studied it in college in Germany."
That's right, she went to college in Germany before coming to Japan. And she tutored me in thermal expansion.
"Did I ever talk to you in English... back... then?"
"I don't think so," Shinji tried to recall. "You were a genius, but you sometimes had a hard time with tests at school because you couldn't read the kanji."
There was a short pause in which Asuka smiled to herself, trying to dig up these childhood memories that she had shared with Shinji. They were buried somewhere deep within the crevices of her fourteen-year-old mind, hidden from the twenty-six year old young woman.
"There's another sign," Asuka pointed out, getting excited now. The billboard proclaimed "SeaWorld" in large bold letters, half black and blue, against a background of waves and dolphins. "Oh, I can't wait."
"I can't either," Shinji added, and it was the truth; he had not been to SeaWorld in several years, since he and Kensuke had promptly been asked to leave after the avid photographer sneaked into the back of the penguin exhibit, attempting to get a close-up picture. The result was a loud commotion involving many wet feathers and one very disgruntled guard. Needless to mention, no useful photos were produced.
Twenty minutes later Shinji pulled into a parking space after weaving in and out of the tour buses. Asuka all but ran out of the car, eager to stretch her legs, and Shinji had to chase after her. She laughed as he did so, her long hair streaming in the soft breeze. God, he would never get tired of hearing her laugh. He paid for the tickets and took her hand as they raced toward the Dolphin Discovery—Shinji had no intention of being left behind again. Unfortunately, much to their dismay, it was closed and the next show was not for several hours—so they headed towards the flamingo exhibit instead.
They took their time, stopping to take a look every now and then in a gift shop. There were a variety of trees and flowers scattered throughout the park, and Asuka wanted to stop to admire all of them. Shinji fumbled through his pack for a camera and snapped a picture of the redhead kneeling beside a cluster of wild lilies.
Asuka noticed a foul stench and asked, "What is that smell?"
Shinji didn't like it any better than she did, but he was afraid that the truth would make her want to turn back. He replied, "You'll see in a minute," and immediately regretted it, but the redhead only smiled and squeezed his hand. They passed a large clump of ferns—then—
"Oh my gosh!"
One fat pink flamingo looked up at her star-struck face, fluffed out its feathers, then went back to hunting for food in the shallow water.
All Shinji wanted to do was hold his nose and back away as far as he could. Asuka, on the other hand, went closer—and leaned in towards the birds.
"How can their legs hold them up?" she marveled aloud. "They're so skinny! And their necks so long!"
As if in reply, one particularly fat flamingo hoisted up one leg into his feathers and tucked his head under his wing. The girl watched in amazement as the bird remained perfectly balanced on his other skinny leg.
"Asuka." Shinji's voice was strained and rather funny sounding, as he was pinching his nose.
"Sorry." She hurried away from the murky swamp. Shinji gasped for air as they ran, making her laugh.
Their next stop was to see the penguins, which were housed inside a large, partially lit facility, which was maintained at an extremely low temperature. Containing this cubicle was a darkened room with a series of steps facing the penguins, where viewers sat. However, so many eager children were pressing against the glass of the penguins' home that it was nearly impossible to see anything but dark human heads from the staircase, so Shinji and Asuka made their way up to the front.
"It's Pen-pen!" Asuka whispered, "...except without the red tufted feathers on his head."
Shinji was rather preoccupied with hoping that the guards wouldn't recognize him.
Pen-pen sleeps in Misato's freezer, but he still loves to come out and play in normal temperatures, Asuka thought. A group of penguins lined up neatly on an icy edge and, one by one, hopped into the water. How dreadful it must be to live here, in this cold and dark place.
Having lived with a penguin for a good amount of time, Asuka didn't find the penguins nearly as amusing as the fat flamingoes, and was soon ready to leave. When she stepped back, however, her foot landed on someone else's—and that someone else let out a soft wince.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Asuka quickly supplied. But the girl's face held no emotion, even as she raised it to meet Asuka's gaze.
She was a young girl, only about four or five, but it was her hair that caught and held Asuka's gaze for several moments. It was blue, an icy cold blue that chilled Asuka as it eerily reflected the faint glow of the penguins' habitat—
"Rei?"
The girl's face was alight against the dark background; shadows danced on her face; unconsciously Asuka had already blocked out the senseless chatter of those around her—
"I am not Rei," she said levelly, in a voice that was much too old for a child her age.
"I'm sorry," Asuka apologized. "I—I just thought..."
The spell broke. The Rei-like child became a normal girl caught up in the excitement of summer vacation. She gazed up at Asuka with large, fearful eyes, then ran—amazing, thought Asuka, that eyes which were just a moment ago so devoid of all feeling could suddenly make all the difference in whether she was a memory or a real, live child.
That didn't make sense. She shook herself, trying to rid herself of the cold feeling the child had given her.
"Shall we go?" she asked Shinji, rather anxious to get out of the dark confines of the penguin house.
= = = = = = =
Several hours later Asuka was eating a three-colored Popsicle and had managed to stain her tongue ocean blue. Shinji was working on an ice cream sandwich and had to lick frantically to keep it from dripping as he checked his watch. "The Dolphin Discovery starts in fifteen minutes."
They made it just in time and selected seats in the eleventh row, where they would get a perfect view. Asuka had never seen a dolphin nor a killer whale before and Shinji had been kicked out before getting to attend the show last time, so naturally both were quite excited.
Until they got soaked.
Asuka screamed and dived for cover behind Shinji, who unfortunately took the full drenching. A brief intermission took place, as guests grumbled and moaned about the 55-degree seawater. Shinji spit a mouthful of it onto the back of the seat in front of him.
"Sorry," Asuka apologized in a small voice. Shinji shrugged, evidently not mad.
They watched several trainers feed and swim with the dolphins and killer whales. At one point they called for a volunteer, and Asuka raised her hand high—but they chose a little blonde boy who was not yet eight. A trainer guided him onto the whale's back and handed him fish to throw into the animal's mouth. Asuka was disappointed.
"Well, at least you're dry," Shinji commented helpfully as they passed the boy on the way out. He was now howling about the salt water in his eyes, and nothing his mother did would shush him. The father stood off to the side, looking rather red and embarrassed.
"Time to stop for dinner?" Shinji suggested. Asuka agreed; she hadn't noticed how hungry she was until the whale started wolfing down pounds of fish.
She chose the restaurant. It was a small café with tables set up outside and umbrellas to shade the occupants while they ate. Asuka opted for the salad this time, while Shinji wavered between two types of sandwiches and finally wound up getting one of each.
"I'm hungry!" he protested teasingly.
Asuka sat cross-legged, comfortably shaded by the umbrella, and watched people walk by. There was a short black metal fence separating the café from the rest of the park, and just beyond it several evergreen bushes flourished. She stabbed at a piece of tomato with her fork and chewed slowly, enjoying herself. Out on the brick path, an impatient child ran on ahead of his parents, throwing a stuffed animal dolphin into the air and catching it repeatedly.
Shinji followed her gaze, as he had done so many times that day. "You want one?"
"Oh, no," she said, and turned back to her salad. They finished their meal in silence.
"I'm going to use the restroom." Shinji stood up. "If the waiter comes, tell him to wait one moment."
Asuka nodded as Shinji disappeared into the gift shop alongside the café. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the waiter speaking courteously to another couple. No, she thought, blushing furiously, we are not a couple—although I do like Shinji-kun very much—
Please wait one moment, she thought quickly, repeating the English words under her breath, so that she would be ready should the waiter happened to come by. Please wait one moment...
"Would you like the check, miss?"
Asuka blinked.
"One moment," she managed to get out, and then added, "please..."
The waited nodded, not having noticed anything out of the ordinary, and hurried off to the next table. Asuka exhaled, noting that he did not bow, as any sensible Japanese would have done. She stretched her legs and let her sandals scrape on the brick-laid floor. She wondered what Misato was doing—then again, it was night in Tokyo-3, so Misato was presumably asleep.
Shinji returned a moment later, surprising her with his seemingly sudden appearance in front of her.
= = = = = = =
They didn't head back until it was dark, and had it not been for the magical button on Shinji's keychain that caused the lights of his car to flash and beep, they might have been lost for a very long time. Asuka climbed into the passenger's seat and kicked off her shoes immediately. Shinji got in beside her and slammed the door.
"Did you have fun today?" he asked, starting the engine. A vast array of lights flashed on across the dashboard; most faded to black within a matter of seconds.
"Yes," Asuka assured him. "I liked the flamingoes best."
"They were so smelly, though," Shinji muttered, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Asuka laughed.
Silence. Moonlight draped a soft aura around Asuka's features.
"Tomorrow won't be nearly as fun," he reminded apologetically. "I have to work..."
"That's all right," Asuka insisted. "I'd like to see where you work... I still don't know exactly what you do."
"You might not find it very interesting," he cautioned.
"That's fine."
Pause.
When Shinji glanced at her again, Asuka was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. He noted the distance to the next rest station and pulled off the road as soon as he could.
The former pilot of Eva Unit 01 walked to the back and unzipped his pack. From the largest compartment he removed a plastic bag, and from that, a stuffed animal dolphin, exactly like the one Asuka had watched another child handle. He shut the back door as quietly as he could and returned to his place in the driver's seat.
Asuka was facing towards him, and her sweet expression made him want to hold her as he gently tucked her arms around the toy. She mumbled a bit but didn't stir.
A hint of a smile crept onto Shinji's face as he restarted the engine.
Author's Notes: Guys I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter! I promise I'll try to update more often (I'm leaving for Japan and China on the 29th of June, so I'm hoping to finish it up before then).
Writing this chapter was very much like writing a school report on "What did you do over the summer?" I tried to make it interesting, but the results were—well, evidently not the best. I haven't been to SeaWorld in about four years and I relied mainly on their website, so my apologies for any glaring errors I've made.
Last time I was asked what language Asuka and Shinji communicate in. In general it's Japanese, since I figured that would be easier for Asuka, but I apparently forgot to explain where she learned English. Oops. Considering that she went to college in Germany and learned both German and Japanese, I assumed it was fairly reasonable that she had learned and been relatively fluent in English at the time of the series (roughly twelve years before this fanfic). Since she retained most of her Japanese after waking up, a sizeable amount of English came along as well, but recently she's been much more focused on speaking in Japanese than English, so it's taking our heroine a bit of effort to pick it back up.
Oh, and to Asuka201, I'll be emailing you soon!
Wow, long author's note. Drop me a review and tell me how I'm doing. Sorry again for the delay!