DISCLAIMER, YO

I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion; Gainax and Hideaki Anno do. I'm just a 16-year-old fanboy from Alaska.

Please read and review. Thanks. – C.o.W.

Chapter 5 – New Friends, Old Friends

Asuka Langley was wide awake before daybreak. She loved to watch the sun come up. The power and majesty in the morning ritual was inspiring. As quietly as she could, the redhead let herself out of the bedroom. She scooted past the sleeping Third Child, prostrate on the couch as one of the firebrands on FOX News went on a monotonous rant against latex, of all things.

Asuka leaned over the boy, looking at him with some disdain. I wouldn't be surprised if he had hands in his pants again. She was surprised to see that his SDAT was gone, and replaced with a silver Sony Discman. A compact disc whirred in the player. The girl was plagued with curiosity. Figuring that he wasn't listening to it, she reached over him and pushed the "stop" button. The disc whined until it became silent. Asuka pressed the release, and the CD player's top popped up, allowing the girl to quickly grab the disc. She expected to find Shinji's usual fare, Bach or Chopin, but this surprised her. It was a 1985 album from a pre-Second Impact pop band, Tears for Fears. She'd heard of them in Germany, and their music wasn't too bad. I wonder where he got this. He probably nicked it off some poor schmuck. I'll have to interrogate him, heh-heh.

Replacing the CD, she took herself to the fridge. Like the boy, she also expected to see to see rows of "yellow gold"—sake. She sighed, and dug around until she pulled out a can of tea. Asuka peered out the window. If she didn't hurry up, she'd miss the show! She hauled herself out of the apartment and parked herself in front of the front door. She had neglected to take a key, since she could easily and mercilessly pound on the door until she woke up Shinji to let her in.

The sun rose. The sky displayed its magnificent color show, from blue to pink to orange. Finally, the first buttery tendrils of sunshine snaked over the horizon and warmed her body. She took a pair of red sunglasses from her pocket and gently placed them on her face. She popped open her tea and quaffed down the entire thing. Then, she aimed at a garbage can and expertly bucketed the piece of trash. As the pure sunshine flowed over the young woman's slender body, she became very relaxed and easily dozed off, her shades shifting to an odd angle as her head rested against her left shoulder.

A little over an hour passed when Asuka felt her precious sunshine being blocked.

"Ugh, not now, baka-Shinji!" she whined. "I'll go the hospital when I want to go. Ritsuko never gave me a time I had to be there, so there. Besides, Child, I think your shadow is a new form of pollution, eh?"

Instead of Shinji's usual timid apology, a soft female voice asked, "Who is Shinji?"

Asuka's eyes flew open. The sun behind the girl hid her features, leaving a silhouette that looked scarily like the late Rei Ayanami: short hair, a petite face and body. "Gah!" Asuka sputtered. Quickly, she backed up in her wheelchair to see who the girl really was. She had reddish hair and light blue eyes.

"Oh, it's just you," Asuka said, bored.

Mana Kirishima was confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, wait. Who the hell are you?" Asuka said in the exact indifferent demeanor of one Bart Simpson.

"I'm Mana Kirishima, your next-door neighbor." Mana extended her hand.

"Bah, I'm busy trying to get a tan here," Asuka rebuffed. Mana, however would not be pushed aside. She simply stood where she was with her hand outstretched. Asuka rolled her tongue around in her mouth, pondering. Oh, what the hell. She can't be any worse than Shinji. Then again, that's not saying much.

"You're persistent," Asuka offered. "I like that." The two girls shook hands.

"Ritsuko said she'd introduce us, but I saw you outside when I woke up this morning and I thought I'd introduce myself."

"How do you know Ritsuko?"

"I met her last night, when I was outside my apartment. She's pretty nice."

"Yeah, yeah. She's softened up since I first met her," Asuka explained.

Mana chuckled. "I hear your name is Asuka."

"Yes, I am Asuka Langley Soryu."

"Langley?" Mana stumbled over the foreign name.

"I'm half German; it's where I got my obvious beauty," Asuka said, examining herself appreciatively.

In the back of her mind, Mana rolled her eyes. "That's nice," she said, as genuinely as possible.

Any further conversation between the two was curtailed by a car driving into the parking lot and stopping front of them. It was a cherry-red convertible.

The Previous Day

Touji Suzuhara awoke sitting beside a cherry-red convertible. He opened his eyes to see Hikari Horaki kneeling looking back at him.

"C-Class Rep?" he asked, dazed.

"Not anymore, Touji-kun," she explained. "Please call me Hikari now."

"What… happened to you?"

"What do you mean? Did you think I would just stay shy and quiet forever, hiding my feelings?"

"Well, no, but why did you track me down like this?"

"Because I love you, Touji. I've loved you since the first day I saw you, the first day in Class 2-A."

"I… I didn't know."

"I know you didn't know! I tried so many times to open up to you, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, and I didn't know why! I still don't know."

"But Hikari, you don't live near me."

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to the university around here. Aren't you?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, actually. I know Kensuke wants to learn computer sciences, so he'll go."

"And what are you going to do, cook ramen for the rest of your life?" This hit Touji hard.

"Never! I'll show you; I'll go to college!" Touji asserted willfully.

"You're on, Suzuhara!"

"Now what, Hikari?"

Silence. Finally, Hikari spoke. "I'm moving to Tokyo-2. Classes start up in the fall, and I need to be settled by then. Tomorrow, I'm going to look for an apartment."

"Please, Hikari, let me come."

"You're serious." It was not a question. Hikari was amazed that Touji had done this for her.

"I'm dead serious. I've come to realize how much you love me. I've never been loved like that, so I… want to return the favor."

Suddenly, Hikari leaned forward and kissed the young man. They stood up and embraced. Hikari had never felt so happy in her entire life.

"One more thing, Touji-kun," she whispered as she looked into his eyes.

"What's that, Hikari-kun?"

"Let's be sure we get different apartments, so they don't have to use industrial solvent to separate us."

"Sure thing, love. I guess I'll take Kensuke as my roommate."

Instead of responding, Hikari initiated another kiss, and Touji gladly seconded that motion.

The Next Day

Asuka barely recognized the Hikari Horaki who stood in front of her. She was beautiful and outgoing. The Hikari that Asuka remembered was shy and plain.

"It's been a very long time, Asuka," Hikari said, stepping forward.

"Indeed it has, Hikari." The two girls exchanged a quick hug, Hikari bending forward to hug her best friend. Mana stood to the side, feeling a tad out of place. Asuka glanced at the handsome young man in the passenger seat.

"And who have we here?" she said, scooting over to Touji. She hadn't recognized him yet. She gave him a studious once-over. If he'd been wearing a ponytail, he could have passed as a young Ryouji Kaji. Hikari walked up to Asuka's side. "That would be Touji Suzuhara, Asuka-chan." The redhead's jaw fell open and she colored quickly.

"What are doing in the same car as h—oh wait, you two are going together? Ay yi yi," Asuka whined.

"Yes, dear, we are, in fact, 'going together'."

"Well, if that's what floats your boat, Hikari-chan," Asuka said, now looking at the boy with thinly-veiled disapproval. Touji rolled his eyes, which sparked Asuka's fuse. She was about to dig into him when Hikari cleared her throat.

"Ahem! Who is that, Asuka?" she was pointing to Mana, quietly leaning against the door of Apartment 501. Suddenly, that very door opened, and Mana Kirishima fell backward, straight into Shinji Ikari's lap.