He recognized her presence immediately, a pleasing change from the silent morning.
Despite having owned the house for nearly three years, he was rarely in it, preferring instead to work late into the night. Every once in awhile he would get carried away and wind up sleeping at his desk, bent over a stack of potential magazine covers. Obviously, Asuka wouldn't have taken to this habit very well, so Shinji had dusted the house from top to bottom and purchased some groceries before his arrival, attempting to give it some form of a vivacious theme.
Asuka lingered by the doorframe, her fingertips brushing against the smoothened wood. Shinji picked up the frying pan in one hand, skillfully flipped its contents with a spatula held in the other, and turned to face the redhead.
"Good morning."
"Morning," she responded, making her way over to his side as he continued to cook. She sniffed thoughtfully—the mass of yellow, speckled with green and red was unfamiliar, but she liked the warm scent it was giving off.
"What is it?"
Shinji poked it and gave it a final flip. "A vegetable omelette." He slid it deftly onto a plate in front of her. The fork and knife followed with two twin clangs.
Asuka cut off a small corner and tasted it, nodding her approval. "What are the red and green spots?"
"The vegetables," Shinji explained, "tomatoes, peppers, onions, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms..."
She ate while he made himself another one, stacking the mushrooms neatly in a pile on the left side of her plate. Asuka took her time and enjoyed herself. This was her favorite room of all—it lacked the overwhelming albeit elegant two-story windows of the living room—which would inevitably have whittled down her appetite. Instead, three pieces of glass had been placed at such angles that they jutted out of the wall in a trapezoidal shape, providing the redhead with a beautiful view of the land past Shinji's vast backyard.
Shinji slid into place across from her, an identical steaming omelette on his plate. "You like the lake?"
She nodded. It was by far the largest body of water she had ever seen, with the exception of the ocean, framed with a spray of various deciduous trees. A flock of geese took flight into the azure sky.
"It's very beautiful," she remarked. "I couldn't have imagined this view from the front of the house."
"Mmfph." Shinji swallowed hard. "I'm lucky that this house was built on the top of a hill, and the lake is a good distance away. No flooding—I saw enough of that in Japan."
Asuka remembered the stories Misato had told her and nodded somberly.
Shinji glanced at his watch and shoved the rest of his omelette down in one big gulp. "We should be leaving soon...excuse me." He pushed in his chair and placed his plate in the sink before hurrying off upstairs. Asuka willed herself to eat faster while savoring every bite. She wondered where Shinji had learned to cook.
That's right, she thought suddenly, I'll be meeting Kensuke today. She wondered what the freckled camera boy would be like now. Asuka shoved the last bite into her mouth and hurried her plate to the sink.
Shinji's plate had been left to soak in some soapy water, but Asuka didn't feel quite right placing hers there as well—the dirty plates would mar the cleanliness of the house. She glanced around and saw that he had cleaned up all the ingredients of their breakfast. Asuka reached for a sponge and began to scrub.
"You don't need to do that."
Shinji had reappeared in the doorway, now dressed for work and fixing his tie. "Ready to go?"
"I...I... I need to get ready," Asuka stuttered, thinking of the soapy water splattered on her blue skirt; however, a glance at the clock informed her that it was already past nine. Past time to go.
"You look fine," Shinji assured her. "I'm proud to be seen in the company of a girl as pretty as you."
Asuka blushed, dried her hands, and followed him out the door.
"So tell me more about your job," Shinji initiated, gracefully turning the corner after a long, straight road. A rubber ball bounced into the street and he quickly stopped, patiently waiting for the child to come pick it up. The boy gave him a wave, and Shinji returned the gesture.
"Well, there's a girl who works with me, named Madoka." Asuka smiled, thinking of the girl's eager face upon learning that she was going to America. "She's worked there much longer than I have, and loves to experiment. Recently she came up with the idea of making starfruit ice cream—and for days the line was so long we couldn't close the door."
"If only business for our magazine was that good..." Shinji mused, drawing a chuckle from the redhead. The sun shone brightly in his eyes and he fumbled in his bag for sunglasses. Asuka located them and handed to him. "Thanks. Too bad we don't have any of those ice cream parlors here. The only ice cream you can get is from the grocery store, made and frozen weeks ago."
"I love making ice cream," she confided. "Misato donated a cart of watermelons last week, and we made watermelon ice cream."
"I want watermelon ice cream." Shinji pretended to pout.
Asuka wished he had an ice cream maker. Then she would whip up gallons of fluffy, creamy dessert, garnished with small chunks of strawberry...
= = = = = = =
"This whole building is yours?"
"No," Shinji laughed, "We rented an office upstairs; other businesses have their offices here as well." He removed the key from the ignition and tossed it in his pocket. It was a sunny day; Shinji had purposely parked the car in the shade so that it would be relatively cool when they returned.
Every inch of floor was shiny and polished, and Asuka's shoes clicked neatly on the tiles. They took the elevator up to the ninth floor, and Asuka amused herself during the brief ride by examining her appearance in the ceiling, which consisted of one large rectangular mirror.
With a welcoming ring, the doors slid open, and Asuka followed Shinji out onto the carpeted floor. The elegance and cheerfulness of the first floor was gone; here everything was deadly silent and very serious. She felt a sense of foreboding as Shinji walked smartly down the hallway, found the appropriate door, and unlocked it. Inside were several small cubicles and beyond it, roomed offices. The entire place was humming with activity; from where she stood in the doorway, Asuka could see people making phone calls, scribbling busily on a notepad, or typing at the computer.
"Come on," Shinji called. Asuka shut the door behind her and followed. Several people called out morning salutations as they passed; Shinji lifted his hand in response and smiled. More than one of them cast surprised looks at Asuka, who felt very out of place.
Shinji stopped in front of a closed door. A short strip of metal was mounted upon the wood, and the name "Kensuke Aida" carved neatly into the shiny metallic surface. Shinji knocked sharply; Asuka heard, "Come in," and Shinji pushed open the door. A brown-haired man sat facing away from them, resizing photographs on his computer.
"Hey, Kensuke."
Kensuke turned slowly. His eyes went not to Shinji, but to Asuka, and widened considerably. He jumped out of his seat, upsetting his keyboard in the process. Asuka backed away quickly as Kensuke grabbed his camera and began snapping pictures of the redhead, all the while shouting "Sugoi! SUGOI! She's here!"
"Kensuke," Shinji muttered sharply, as every head in the office turned towards them. Asuka ducked behind Shinji in fright and stayed there.
"Sorry, got carried away." Kensuke lowered his camera sheepishly, a strawberry blush now slightly hiding the freckles. "Welcome to America, Asuka."
"Thanks," she replied, poking her head up over Shinji's shoulder.
Shinji cleared his throat. "Kensuke, would you like to show Asuka some of your work?"
"Sure." He laid the camera down on its rest and pulled over another chair. Asuka hesitated, but Shinji promised not to be long—he had a meeting to attend to, and if she needed anything, his office was just next door.
"And Kensuke, keep your camera away from her," he warned.
"Hai, hai!" Kensuke waved over his head. Shinji gave Asuka a final smile and closed the door.
Now completely alone with the boy who'd once spied on her in the changing room while taking pictures, Asuka slid tentatively into the seat he had prepared for her. It was soft and comfortable, with padded armrests.
Kensuke was drawing up a folder labeled Brazil 2025. "Shinji and I made a trip to Brazil two years ago," he explained, "and spent three days trekking through the jungle with a guide. "Here's a pair of blue and gold macaws—they were placed on Brazil's Endangered Species List in 1981—very friendly birds, they just sat and let us photograph them as we wanted. Here—"he clicked on a picture of a large red parrot with green-blue fringes on its wings: "—this is a Green-winged macaw, also placed on the list in 1981—shame what's happening to the wildlife, really—look, Asuka, we had to hide in the trees and wait for nearly an hour to get this picture of the crocodiles—Shinji was almost going mad by then, but it was all worth it. This is one of my favorite pictures—" Kensuke scrolled down and selected another image: "—we'd spent all morning wading through the swamp, so we took a nice break in the park, and this big stork just waddled up out of nowhere—amazing, isn't it, how its feathers are split into such neat sections of color? Oh, and this monkey nearly made Shinji run to the airport and board a plane for home immediately—our guide had packed a box of fresh papayas and mangoes for lunch, but forgot to seal it—when we came back, this little fellow had already eaten a good majority of them—look, here's a papaya tree with ripe fruit—"
And so it went on. Nearly an hour later Kensuke had gone through his albums of not only Brazil but also the Great Barrier Reef and Tierra del Fuego, and would have gladly begun on another of Tahiti had Asuka not interrupted and kindly told him that she would like to see Shinji's office.
She made her way across the hall, examining each of the unfamiliar lettering on the doors, until she came to one that read quite simply:
It was unlocked. She twisted the doorknob and entered.
Much like his house, every nook and cranny was perfectly clean and organized. It was rather small but cozy, with a couch and coffee table facing her. His desk was to her left, and above it hung a variety of certificates. On her right side, two identical bookcases stood tightly against the wall. A variety of hanging plants draped long tendrils over the top shelf.
Asuka seated herself in his swiveling leather chair, feeling very small. The back was several inches higher than her head. She kicked her legs, to no avail; finally she grabbed the edge of the desk and pulled. The chair slid forward.
His desk was covered with stacks of paper, each neat and organized. In the corner she recognized the magazine which he had used to invite her to America. Beside it was another older issue, with the picture of the two blue and gold macaws Kensuke had showed off earlier splashed across its cover.
In front of her lay a pile of papers that had been neatly paper clipped together and labeled "Pending Articles."
"Having fun?"
Asuka jumped at Shinji's voice.
He came over to her side. Asuka was terrified that he would be angry with her for looking through his things, but instead his face broke into a grin. "Did you like the article on Belladonna lilies?"
"I didn't get to read it yet," she admitted.
"Then I have an idea."
Several minutes later they were both seated comfortably on the squashy couch, a variety of articles spread out over the table. Asuka's job was to read each of them and decide whether or not she liked it, and based on that decision Shinji would decide whether or not to publish it.
"Is this what you do in a usual day?" Asuka asked.
Shinji shrugged. "It's almost time for another publication, so we held a meeting to settle on the cover story," he explained. "I don't have a consistent schedule that I can stick to daily—sometimes I read articles and decide which ones to publish, sometimes I edit them or send them back to the writer, and other times I look through pictures. Of course, once in awhile I go on a trip with Kensuke and other photographers."
Asuka thought this over and decided she preferred ice cream making any day.
"What's the cover story for this month?" she asked.
Shinji opened up his briefcase and produced a manila folder. The redhead opened it to find an article on Costa Rican rain frogs. The photographs had already been selected and clipped to the first page.
Asuka looked up. Shinji was perusing another article, but sensed her discomfort and met her gaze. "What's wrong?"
"Shinji, what's a tadpole?"
He gave her the Japanese name, but she still didn't seem to understand.
I can't help him read articles, Asuka thought, disappointed, because I don't know these terms. If only my English was better...
But Shinji had another idea. "I know your English is good enough to give you the general idea of each article. Why don't you look through the pictures and decide which would fit best with which article?"
She liked that idea, and quickly got to work.
= = = = = = =
"What did you think of my job, now that you've gotten to experience it firsthand?"
Asuka thought wistfully of Madoka and her starfruit ice cream and chose her response carefully. "It's very interesting to be able to work with so many people...and visit places like—" she had to think to remember the Spanish name: "Tierra del Fuego."
"Did Kensuke show you his pictures of the penguins?"
"Yes, and many more."
Shinji laughed. He reached into his pocket and handed his keyring to Asuka. By now, the ritual didn't need words: Asuka took it from him, found the correct button, and pressed it firmly with her thumb. His car emitted a loud beep and flashed its lights.
"What will we be doing tomorrow?" she asked, as they slid into their respective seats. He held out a hand for the keys and she gave them to him.
"Sleep." Shinji started the engine. "I'm tired, and you're tired, and I can tell you're still suffering from jet lag. If we feel like it we can drive out to the beach in the afternoon."
"I didn't bring a swimsuit," she faltered.
"No matter, we'll go buy one."
Asuka began to argue, but he was insistent.
She was silent by the time they reached his house. Shinji glanced at the redhead. Asuka was resting her head against the window, not moving. A pang of guilt swept over Shinji—he'd managed to exhaust her yesterday and thoroughly bore her today.
"Asuka."
"Mm."
"Are you all right?"
She smiled at him then, and he relaxed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
He handed her the keyring, and she locked all the doors. Then, with her heels clicking on the stone path and his feet making no sounds at all, they went home.
Author's Note: I remember getting a question awhile back on what Shinji actually did, so I added a bit of insight into that, and we meet Kensuke for the first time.
Asuka201—my email's being stupid, so I'll just post here what I was originally planning to email: I'm very impressed that you'd like to translate my story into Chinese, and of course you may do so. I'd like to request that you mention my name and add a link to this fanfiction when you post it, and send me a link to your translation so I can add it to the beginning of this story. Thank you!
And thank you to everyone who's been reviewing! You all are the greatest!
Despite having owned the house for nearly three years, he was rarely in it, preferring instead to work late into the night. Every once in awhile he would get carried away and wind up sleeping at his desk, bent over a stack of potential magazine covers. Obviously, Asuka wouldn't have taken to this habit very well, so Shinji had dusted the house from top to bottom and purchased some groceries before his arrival, attempting to give it some form of a vivacious theme.
Asuka lingered by the doorframe, her fingertips brushing against the smoothened wood. Shinji picked up the frying pan in one hand, skillfully flipped its contents with a spatula held in the other, and turned to face the redhead.
"Good morning."
"Morning," she responded, making her way over to his side as he continued to cook. She sniffed thoughtfully—the mass of yellow, speckled with green and red was unfamiliar, but she liked the warm scent it was giving off.
"What is it?"
Shinji poked it and gave it a final flip. "A vegetable omelette." He slid it deftly onto a plate in front of her. The fork and knife followed with two twin clangs.
Asuka cut off a small corner and tasted it, nodding her approval. "What are the red and green spots?"
"The vegetables," Shinji explained, "tomatoes, peppers, onions, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms..."
She ate while he made himself another one, stacking the mushrooms neatly in a pile on the left side of her plate. Asuka took her time and enjoyed herself. This was her favorite room of all—it lacked the overwhelming albeit elegant two-story windows of the living room—which would inevitably have whittled down her appetite. Instead, three pieces of glass had been placed at such angles that they jutted out of the wall in a trapezoidal shape, providing the redhead with a beautiful view of the land past Shinji's vast backyard.
Shinji slid into place across from her, an identical steaming omelette on his plate. "You like the lake?"
She nodded. It was by far the largest body of water she had ever seen, with the exception of the ocean, framed with a spray of various deciduous trees. A flock of geese took flight into the azure sky.
"It's very beautiful," she remarked. "I couldn't have imagined this view from the front of the house."
"Mmfph." Shinji swallowed hard. "I'm lucky that this house was built on the top of a hill, and the lake is a good distance away. No flooding—I saw enough of that in Japan."
Asuka remembered the stories Misato had told her and nodded somberly.
Shinji glanced at his watch and shoved the rest of his omelette down in one big gulp. "We should be leaving soon...excuse me." He pushed in his chair and placed his plate in the sink before hurrying off upstairs. Asuka willed herself to eat faster while savoring every bite. She wondered where Shinji had learned to cook.
That's right, she thought suddenly, I'll be meeting Kensuke today. She wondered what the freckled camera boy would be like now. Asuka shoved the last bite into her mouth and hurried her plate to the sink.
Shinji's plate had been left to soak in some soapy water, but Asuka didn't feel quite right placing hers there as well—the dirty plates would mar the cleanliness of the house. She glanced around and saw that he had cleaned up all the ingredients of their breakfast. Asuka reached for a sponge and began to scrub.
"You don't need to do that."
Shinji had reappeared in the doorway, now dressed for work and fixing his tie. "Ready to go?"
"I...I... I need to get ready," Asuka stuttered, thinking of the soapy water splattered on her blue skirt; however, a glance at the clock informed her that it was already past nine. Past time to go.
"You look fine," Shinji assured her. "I'm proud to be seen in the company of a girl as pretty as you."
Asuka blushed, dried her hands, and followed him out the door.
"So tell me more about your job," Shinji initiated, gracefully turning the corner after a long, straight road. A rubber ball bounced into the street and he quickly stopped, patiently waiting for the child to come pick it up. The boy gave him a wave, and Shinji returned the gesture.
"Well, there's a girl who works with me, named Madoka." Asuka smiled, thinking of the girl's eager face upon learning that she was going to America. "She's worked there much longer than I have, and loves to experiment. Recently she came up with the idea of making starfruit ice cream—and for days the line was so long we couldn't close the door."
"If only business for our magazine was that good..." Shinji mused, drawing a chuckle from the redhead. The sun shone brightly in his eyes and he fumbled in his bag for sunglasses. Asuka located them and handed to him. "Thanks. Too bad we don't have any of those ice cream parlors here. The only ice cream you can get is from the grocery store, made and frozen weeks ago."
"I love making ice cream," she confided. "Misato donated a cart of watermelons last week, and we made watermelon ice cream."
"I want watermelon ice cream." Shinji pretended to pout.
Asuka wished he had an ice cream maker. Then she would whip up gallons of fluffy, creamy dessert, garnished with small chunks of strawberry...
= = = = = = =
"This whole building is yours?"
"No," Shinji laughed, "We rented an office upstairs; other businesses have their offices here as well." He removed the key from the ignition and tossed it in his pocket. It was a sunny day; Shinji had purposely parked the car in the shade so that it would be relatively cool when they returned.
Every inch of floor was shiny and polished, and Asuka's shoes clicked neatly on the tiles. They took the elevator up to the ninth floor, and Asuka amused herself during the brief ride by examining her appearance in the ceiling, which consisted of one large rectangular mirror.
With a welcoming ring, the doors slid open, and Asuka followed Shinji out onto the carpeted floor. The elegance and cheerfulness of the first floor was gone; here everything was deadly silent and very serious. She felt a sense of foreboding as Shinji walked smartly down the hallway, found the appropriate door, and unlocked it. Inside were several small cubicles and beyond it, roomed offices. The entire place was humming with activity; from where she stood in the doorway, Asuka could see people making phone calls, scribbling busily on a notepad, or typing at the computer.
"Come on," Shinji called. Asuka shut the door behind her and followed. Several people called out morning salutations as they passed; Shinji lifted his hand in response and smiled. More than one of them cast surprised looks at Asuka, who felt very out of place.
Shinji stopped in front of a closed door. A short strip of metal was mounted upon the wood, and the name "Kensuke Aida" carved neatly into the shiny metallic surface. Shinji knocked sharply; Asuka heard, "Come in," and Shinji pushed open the door. A brown-haired man sat facing away from them, resizing photographs on his computer.
"Hey, Kensuke."
Kensuke turned slowly. His eyes went not to Shinji, but to Asuka, and widened considerably. He jumped out of his seat, upsetting his keyboard in the process. Asuka backed away quickly as Kensuke grabbed his camera and began snapping pictures of the redhead, all the while shouting "Sugoi! SUGOI! She's here!"
"Kensuke," Shinji muttered sharply, as every head in the office turned towards them. Asuka ducked behind Shinji in fright and stayed there.
"Sorry, got carried away." Kensuke lowered his camera sheepishly, a strawberry blush now slightly hiding the freckles. "Welcome to America, Asuka."
"Thanks," she replied, poking her head up over Shinji's shoulder.
Shinji cleared his throat. "Kensuke, would you like to show Asuka some of your work?"
"Sure." He laid the camera down on its rest and pulled over another chair. Asuka hesitated, but Shinji promised not to be long—he had a meeting to attend to, and if she needed anything, his office was just next door.
"And Kensuke, keep your camera away from her," he warned.
"Hai, hai!" Kensuke waved over his head. Shinji gave Asuka a final smile and closed the door.
Now completely alone with the boy who'd once spied on her in the changing room while taking pictures, Asuka slid tentatively into the seat he had prepared for her. It was soft and comfortable, with padded armrests.
Kensuke was drawing up a folder labeled Brazil 2025. "Shinji and I made a trip to Brazil two years ago," he explained, "and spent three days trekking through the jungle with a guide. "Here's a pair of blue and gold macaws—they were placed on Brazil's Endangered Species List in 1981—very friendly birds, they just sat and let us photograph them as we wanted. Here—"he clicked on a picture of a large red parrot with green-blue fringes on its wings: "—this is a Green-winged macaw, also placed on the list in 1981—shame what's happening to the wildlife, really—look, Asuka, we had to hide in the trees and wait for nearly an hour to get this picture of the crocodiles—Shinji was almost going mad by then, but it was all worth it. This is one of my favorite pictures—" Kensuke scrolled down and selected another image: "—we'd spent all morning wading through the swamp, so we took a nice break in the park, and this big stork just waddled up out of nowhere—amazing, isn't it, how its feathers are split into such neat sections of color? Oh, and this monkey nearly made Shinji run to the airport and board a plane for home immediately—our guide had packed a box of fresh papayas and mangoes for lunch, but forgot to seal it—when we came back, this little fellow had already eaten a good majority of them—look, here's a papaya tree with ripe fruit—"
And so it went on. Nearly an hour later Kensuke had gone through his albums of not only Brazil but also the Great Barrier Reef and Tierra del Fuego, and would have gladly begun on another of Tahiti had Asuka not interrupted and kindly told him that she would like to see Shinji's office.
She made her way across the hall, examining each of the unfamiliar lettering on the doors, until she came to one that read quite simply:
Shinji Ikari
It was unlocked. She twisted the doorknob and entered.
Much like his house, every nook and cranny was perfectly clean and organized. It was rather small but cozy, with a couch and coffee table facing her. His desk was to her left, and above it hung a variety of certificates. On her right side, two identical bookcases stood tightly against the wall. A variety of hanging plants draped long tendrils over the top shelf.
Asuka seated herself in his swiveling leather chair, feeling very small. The back was several inches higher than her head. She kicked her legs, to no avail; finally she grabbed the edge of the desk and pulled. The chair slid forward.
His desk was covered with stacks of paper, each neat and organized. In the corner she recognized the magazine which he had used to invite her to America. Beside it was another older issue, with the picture of the two blue and gold macaws Kensuke had showed off earlier splashed across its cover.
In front of her lay a pile of papers that had been neatly paper clipped together and labeled "Pending Articles."
"Having fun?"
Asuka jumped at Shinji's voice.
He came over to her side. Asuka was terrified that he would be angry with her for looking through his things, but instead his face broke into a grin. "Did you like the article on Belladonna lilies?"
"I didn't get to read it yet," she admitted.
"Then I have an idea."
Several minutes later they were both seated comfortably on the squashy couch, a variety of articles spread out over the table. Asuka's job was to read each of them and decide whether or not she liked it, and based on that decision Shinji would decide whether or not to publish it.
"Is this what you do in a usual day?" Asuka asked.
Shinji shrugged. "It's almost time for another publication, so we held a meeting to settle on the cover story," he explained. "I don't have a consistent schedule that I can stick to daily—sometimes I read articles and decide which ones to publish, sometimes I edit them or send them back to the writer, and other times I look through pictures. Of course, once in awhile I go on a trip with Kensuke and other photographers."
Asuka thought this over and decided she preferred ice cream making any day.
"What's the cover story for this month?" she asked.
Shinji opened up his briefcase and produced a manila folder. The redhead opened it to find an article on Costa Rican rain frogs. The photographs had already been selected and clipped to the first page.
The general life cycle of a common frog begins
with the spawn, a mass of eggs in which the embryos develop. Hatching
occurs between 6 and 21 days, producing hundreds of tiny tailed
tadpoles, which eventually develop legs and grow to resemble an adult
frog. These then disperse into the world and produce more eggs to
complete the cycle.
The Costa Rican rain frog bypasses the tadpole stage, however, by laying eggs that contain fully developed albeit tiny froglets...
The Costa Rican rain frog bypasses the tadpole stage, however, by laying eggs that contain fully developed albeit tiny froglets...
Asuka looked up. Shinji was perusing another article, but sensed her discomfort and met her gaze. "What's wrong?"
"Shinji, what's a tadpole?"
He gave her the Japanese name, but she still didn't seem to understand.
I can't help him read articles, Asuka thought, disappointed, because I don't know these terms. If only my English was better...
But Shinji had another idea. "I know your English is good enough to give you the general idea of each article. Why don't you look through the pictures and decide which would fit best with which article?"
She liked that idea, and quickly got to work.
= = = = = = =
"What did you think of my job, now that you've gotten to experience it firsthand?"
Asuka thought wistfully of Madoka and her starfruit ice cream and chose her response carefully. "It's very interesting to be able to work with so many people...and visit places like—" she had to think to remember the Spanish name: "Tierra del Fuego."
"Did Kensuke show you his pictures of the penguins?"
"Yes, and many more."
Shinji laughed. He reached into his pocket and handed his keyring to Asuka. By now, the ritual didn't need words: Asuka took it from him, found the correct button, and pressed it firmly with her thumb. His car emitted a loud beep and flashed its lights.
"What will we be doing tomorrow?" she asked, as they slid into their respective seats. He held out a hand for the keys and she gave them to him.
"Sleep." Shinji started the engine. "I'm tired, and you're tired, and I can tell you're still suffering from jet lag. If we feel like it we can drive out to the beach in the afternoon."
"I didn't bring a swimsuit," she faltered.
"No matter, we'll go buy one."
Asuka began to argue, but he was insistent.
She was silent by the time they reached his house. Shinji glanced at the redhead. Asuka was resting her head against the window, not moving. A pang of guilt swept over Shinji—he'd managed to exhaust her yesterday and thoroughly bore her today.
"Asuka."
"Mm."
"Are you all right?"
She smiled at him then, and he relaxed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
He handed her the keyring, and she locked all the doors. Then, with her heels clicking on the stone path and his feet making no sounds at all, they went home.
Author's Note: I remember getting a question awhile back on what Shinji actually did, so I added a bit of insight into that, and we meet Kensuke for the first time.
Asuka201—my email's being stupid, so I'll just post here what I was originally planning to email: I'm very impressed that you'd like to translate my story into Chinese, and of course you may do so. I'd like to request that you mention my name and add a link to this fanfiction when you post it, and send me a link to your translation so I can add it to the beginning of this story. Thank you!
And thank you to everyone who's been reviewing! You all are the greatest!