DISCLAIMER, YO
I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion; Gainax and Hideaki Anno do. I'm just a 16-year-old fanboy from Alaska.
WERD: I love parrots and omakes; email them to me :). Please read and review. Thanks. – C.o.W.
Chapter 4 – Two More Girls!
Ritsuko Akagi was not returning to the Tokyo-2 hospital for just any work. There was a certain adolescent redhead on the fifth floor who needed a visit. As the blonde doctor exited the express elevator to the desired story, Nurse Kodama Horaki greeted her superior.
"Good evening, sempai," she said.
"Likewise, kōhai," Akagi replied. "How is Miss Soryu?"
"Still rather… volatile, Ritsuko-san. She is quite uncooperative."
"I would imagine she is."
They reached the door. Behind it, they could hear various expletives in English, German, and Japanese. Ritsuko was pretty sure that the harshest curses were not in her first language. Suddenly, there was a crash. Dr. Akagi and Kodama both sweatdropped. Regaining her command, however, Ritsuko opened the door to take the bull by the horns… or neural interface clips, as the case may be. With an air of strength and sophistication, the doctor entered the room.
The fiery young woman sat up in her bed, arms folded in stubbornness.
"It's about time!" Asuka shot. "How much longer am I going to be stuck here? This hospital smells like fish."
Unperturbed, the doctor walked over to the side of the bed and spoke to the girl calmly.
"How are you feeling, Asuka?"
"Pissed." Ritsuko would have laughed at this, if there wasn't a chance that she might be choked to death.
"Well, you certainly look healthy."
"Damned straight, except for my legs," the girl complained. She mockingly asked "Wouldn't you mind fixing them, doc?"
"If I pumped stimulants into your legs, and you tried to stand, you would almost certainly collapse under your own weight."
"Are you suggesting I'm some sort of cow? Well, you're no Cindy Crawford yourself." Asuka was really beginning to grind on Ritsuko's nerves.
"I'm suggesting that after four years of being on your back, your legs are out of shape."
"After all the NERV training I've had, that sounds really pathetic. So much for your science. Now, I want out of h—"
Slap! Silence descended on the hospital as Asuka hesitantly took her cue to shut up. She sulked on the bed as Ritsuko looked on the girl with disdain. The doctor returned her hand to a pocket of her lab coat. Kodama looked around nervously. Ritsuko's never done that before. That girl must be pretty brave… or pretty stupid.
"You will need to use a wheelchair for a few days while your legs regain their strength. You will also report here every day for checkups and some light physical therapy," the doctor said smugly. Asuka replied with nothing more than a low grunt of acceptance.
"I bet Wondergirl can walk just fine," Asuka muttered, but just high enough for the doctor to hear her.
"Actually," Ritsuko said with a smirk, "You will be happy to know that you'll never have to 'put up' with Rei ever again."
"Did she finally jump off the bridge when the Commander told her to?"
"No, I can't say she did."
"Well, what are you talking about, then?"
"Rei Ayanami died almost three months after you entered a coma, Soryu."
Again, silence reigned as Asuka sat upright, her eyes wide with shock. The doll is dead. I d-don't believe it. It's no fair! Deep down, I… I wanted to be her friend, but I pushed her away, just like everyone else. What is wrong with me? Why did this have to happen?
"Yes," Ritsuko said, nearly answering her thoughts, "I thought that might stir you."
For the remainder of the doctor's visit, Asuka stayed silent. The one person that she had wanted to befriend was gone forever. From time to time, Akagi said a few things that the girl digested slowly. Third Impact… failed. The nutcase of a commander had been killed in cold blood. Hikari… moved away. Would she even recognize her? Kaji was… still dead. Misato was… dead, too. This hit her as hard as the news of Rei's death. Misato had been like a big sister, sometimes a friend, and sometimes an enemy of sorts. Asuka had sometimes had considered Major Katsuragi a weak person, but weak in a different way than Shinji Ikari. Now, she realized that Misato had been a fun-loving, caring, and kind person.
Finally, Ritsuko brought Soryu's wheelchair to the side of her bed.
"It's time to go, Asuka," she said quietly.
Fighting back tears, Asuka nodded slowly. She didn't want to go to the apartment, where he was. She would never forgive him for what he done to her all those years ago. He was a spineless, vile creature with the IQ of pond scum. Nevertheless, she had somewhat lost the will to argue with the doctor.
Shinji awoke from his nap. Glancing at the clock above the television, he saw that it was almost 9:00 PM. He stretched as best he could. Then, he bent over and massaged his calves. Shinji could tell that they were quickly regaining strength. After finishing, he surveyed the apartment. To his dismay, there was only one bedroom. If Asuka does move in, I'll be sleeping on the couch for the rest of my life. He made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge. He was surprised not to find shelves of cans of Yebisu. Shinji sighed heavily. He was inspecting the stove and cooking utensils when a trio of knocks on the front door sounded throughout the apartment. As quickly as he could, he scooted to the front of the apartment and opened the door to 501. The man who stood there looked familiar. He had short black hair that was combed back neatly. He wore eyeglasses and an old-fashioned professor's jacket, complete with leather elbow patches. Shinji had to stop himself from laughing.
"Good evening, Mr. Ikari. Is this a bad time?" The man's voice confirmed Shinji's thoughts.
"Not at all, 2nd Lieutenant Hyuuga. Do come in," Shinji offered warmly.
Makoto laughed softly and stepped into the apartment. "It's okay, Shinji. I'm not a lieutenant anymore."
"I see," Shinji said thoughtfully, "So then, what have you been up to for the last four years?"
"Well, I'm a professor of computer sciences at one of the local universities."
"Do you always wear that outfit?" Shinji teased lightly.
"Aw, no! I borrowed it from Kouzou. He's the dean."
"Wow! That must be a change from number two all the time, huh?"
"Well, I suppose. He hardly ever talks about his days at NERV anymore. It's in the past."
"I guess you're right about that. So what are you here for, Mr. Hyuuga?" Shinji hadn't known Makoto very well, but he'd liked the man. Makoto was clever and caring. He had had a huge crush on Misato. I'd better not bring it up, Shinji thought carefully as he led Hyuuga to the kitchen table. He indicated one of the chairs and offered Makoto a seat.
"Domo, Shinji," Makoto said. "Well, Ritsuko-san called me earlier and told me you were… back, for lack of a better term. I guess you know by now that you've missed four years of school."
It really hadn't occurred to Shinji, and his face showed it. Makoto smiled and said, "Well, that's alright. The important thing is that you learn what you haven't had a chance to yet. I'm going to be your tutor!" Makoto declared.
"Thanks for taking so much time out of your schedule to do this, Makoto," Shinji offered.
"Don't worry about it, Shinji," the older man reassured. "It's just going to be evenings, anyway, and I don't have a whole lot to do then anyways."
"Will you be tutoring Asuka, too?" Shinji asked. She might not be too keen on the idea.
"I'll try, that's for sure! I hear she's pretty feisty, eh?" Makoto winked, causing Shinji to blush and sweatdrop.
"Well, I—um, Asuka is, uh, emotional," Shinji stammered. Hyuuga chuckled.
"Anyway," said the man, "It'll take about a year for you to get caught up with your contemporaries, if you will. I've condensed four years of curriculum into one."
"That's good," Shinji replied. It was the only thing he could think of to say.
They reviewed the lesson plan: Math, Literature/Language, History/Social Studies, and Sciences. It was a good schedule, Shinji decided, and a good way to keep his mind off of less pleasant things, namely his future roommate. Finally, at around 10:15, Makoto closed up his files.
"I think this will be good, Shinji. You seem to be eager to learn, and I'm always eager to teach. As soon as Miss Soryu returns I guess we can—"
He was cut off by a series of fierce raps on the door.
"Pardon me, sensei," Shinji excused himself from the table.
"Open up, Third Child!" The voice was clearly Asuka's. Shinji smiled inwardly as he wheeled to the door. He opened it as he backed up as quickly as he could; he was preparing for a more human version of a red stock car to barrel into Apartment 501. He was right. She drove her electric wheelchair into the apartment like Misato had driven her old car. Asuka's head frantically flew to and fro until she spied the open bedroom door. Immediately, she careened into the lone bedroom, slid the door shut, and barricaded herself in, exerting an absurd amount of force. As she moved, she pondered the said Child. I can't believe him! He defiles me and then thinks he can paw at me like a god-damned dog. He must pay. At the same time, another part of her mind was having different thoughts. Stop it! Why can't you forgive him? Are you just going to repel him as usual? You're ruining lives like this. She was torn between being the person she wanted to be and being the person everybody else saw her as.
"Goodnight, weirdoes!" she cried out. I have planning to do, she thought to herself. Her less forgiving side had taken precedence. I'm going to make that retarded little hentai sorry he ever lived. Then, only silence emanated from the room. Doctor Akagi walked into the apartment.
"The Second Child is arrived," she said coolly. Addressing Makoto and Shinji, she said "Good night, gentlemen." With that, she closed the door.
Shinji and Professor Hyuuga sat in silence. For what seemed like a very long time, neither of them moved. Then, Makoto quietly stood up. He mumbled a goodnight to Shinji and left.
"'Night, sensei," Shinji murmured, almost unheard. The door closed and Shinji put his head in this hands. Life was becoming more and more… intriguing.
And it was to be even more so, as a girl with short, straight burgundy hair and light blue eyes sitting on top of her suitcase outside of Apartment 502 saw the redhead in a wheelchair zoom into the residence next door. She giggled to herself as she sipped an iced tea and watched the starry night cradle Tokyo-2. Suddenly, she felt somebody standing over her.
"Excuse me." It was the blonde woman in a spotless white lab coat who had escorted the boisterous girl home. The girl realized that her long, silky legs were blocking the woman's path.
"Gomen," she said politely as she folded her legs in.
"Thank you," the woman responded. She had walked a few steps away when she turned around and addressed the girl.
"Are you new here?"
"Why, yes, I am. Thank you for asking. Do you live here?"
"Yes, at the end of the hall," Ritsuko said, casually pointing in the opposite direction she was headed.
"I see."
"How old are you, if I may ask?"
"I turned 18 a few weeks ago."
"That's nice."
"Domo. I've come to Tokyo-2 to study computer sciences at the university."
"You'll like Professor Hyuuga."
"You know him?"
"I worked with him a few years ago."
"Oh, yeah! Wasn't he in that secret government organization?"
"Yes, but it's not so secret anymore." Akagi smirked.
"I guess you're right, Miss…?"
"Akagi, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi."
"Right, Dr. Akagi."
"And you would be?"
"Mana Kirishima, at your service."
"That's a very pretty name, Mana. Well, I've got to get going. I'll see you around, then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, doctor." Mana smiled and waved. Ritsuko returned a small wave and continued to walk away. Suddenly, the girl spoke up.
"Oh, Ms. Akagi?"
Ritsuko turned around. "Yes, Mana?"
"Was that your daughter in the wheelchair?"
Ritsuko smirked. "Never in a million years. I'll introduce you two tomorrow."
"That'd be great! I could really use some friends."
"I think you and Asuka will be good friends. Goodbye."
"Bye." Mana returned to her thoughts as the doctor returned to her car. Asuka is a pretty name. With that, Kirishima stood up and picked up her suitcase. She tossed her can of iced tea in a trash can and let herself into her apartment. She was enjoying Tokyo-2 already.
Meanwhile, Ritsuko drove back to the hospital. Just great, Asuka has a boyfriend and a new best friend, and she doesn't know any of it yet.
A/N: I didn't like Mana at first, when she was in the video game, because she didn't mesh with the EVA storyline. The only substitute was an alternate universe. Then again, this whole story is an AU. Toodles! – C.o.W.