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Chapter 12 – There's a New Age Dawning
Two figures, a parent and a child, sat clutching each other. They both wept out of the joy of a blissful long-awaited reunion. It was the mending of a fence, several years in the making.
By the afternoon, the snow had returned to the city of Tokyo-2. It was extremely cold out, and Shinji Ikari inched home, regretting that he had not brought at least a jacket. He wasn't the only one, though. Other students had let out groans after seeing how they would be forced to walk home in the snow.
School, however, was still an awkward place to be. It seemed that Koyomi was ignoring him.
As the boy entered the apartment, he noticed that Kaji-san was nowhere to be found. Not caring that much, he shed his schoolbooks and sprinted toward the bathroom for a hot shower. He emerged, feeling better but still somewhat glum.
Shinji walked around the apartment, thinking about his recent life. He hadn't seen any of his old middle school friends since before he had left the country. He thought it might be nice to visit them, but it occurred to him that… maybe, they didn't want to see him. Maybe they were bitter. Last night seems so far away, but the day I left seems like yesterday, he thought.
An innocent female laugh rang out outside, and Shinji looked up. Quietly, he made his way to the front window, where he could see Hikari Horaki and Touji Suzuhara. It looks like they had just arrived from the university, since Shinji could see them sitting on the hood of her convertible, a few parking spaces away from his front door.
It's the perfect time to talk to them.
They'll push you away, just like A-
Before the offending thought finished itself, Shinji threw on his jacket and opened the front door. They heard, and turned. He realized that he couldn't think of anything appropriate to say, but it was unnecessary. They ran to him.
It was only a matter of moments, and they were inside, talking quietly. Before long, however, Hikari asked about Asuka. Shinji said nothing, looking away with a sad, distant look in his eyes. Hikari sighed deeply, and repeated her question.
"Shinji, where is Asuka?"
Only after a long, painful silence did he answer.
"She left town."
"What!" Hikari cried, "what happened?"
"She… she said she wanted to go back to Germany."
Hikari frowned as she tried to digest this. Weren't they friends? She didn't tell me… but why not? Touji, trying to comfort her, put his hand on her shoulder. She considered shrugging it off, but didn't.
"I'm just… so confused," she whispered sadly, "first you, now her…"
"I'm sorry," Shinji said, repeating his old mantra.
"Shinji," Hikari said, looking up at the boy with tearful eyes, "you loved Asuka, right?"
"I still do, and I don't know what I'm going to do now. She said she'd be back one day, but I don't know…"
One question bothered all three: why would Asuka give up everything just to chase a dream of a job? Perhaps, there was something else…
It was one of the most awkward times Shinji had ever experienced, and there seemed to be no end to it. When he had first awakened, there had been some hope of a better life; all the horror of four years ago seemed to have disappeared for good. He had dreamed of a real relationship with the great Asuka Soryu Langley, but he had to screw it up and run away after a petty argument that ended up bringing up the death and misery of the Angel War, specifically a single act of desperation brought about by confusion and sadness. He had allowed Asuka to be strong, and he had simply leaned against her, never trying to develop his own inner strength, even though it was there. He had been content with being weak, and now it infuriated him. The silent apartment was maddening; he felt as if he were being strangled, or caged. He just wanted to be happy…
You did your best, a tiny voice whispered to Shinji. He wasn't sure whether it was his own mind, or…
"Rei," he whispered, not loud enough for either Hikari or Touji to hear. He was unsure of this, but it was beginning to make sense now. He and Asuka needed time apart, no matter how much either of them wanted to be happy together. Only separation would truly bury their past. Asuka didn't just want to get a job; she wanted to become more mature, and she had been trying to tell Shinji the same thing! The boy was changing inside now, his entire mind experiencing an upheaval. All this frustration and sadness was hurting him. It made no sense to obsess about her, because it then he wouldn't be living his life, he'd be living the past. Hadn't he been trying to forget about the past?
Shinji explained this to Hikari and Touji, all the while becoming happy. While he didn't have to forget her, he should be focusing on other things. Someday, in the future, he would meet her again, and they start anew. That's what she meant all along… she forgave me.
The night went much more smoothly. Touji and Hikari stayed over for dinner, and Kensuke and Kaji joined them. The latter was sporting a bruise on his cheek that he refused to talk about, but he assured them that he was fine. All three had to admit it was the happiest they had ever seen Shinji Ikari.
"Ritsuko's going to be happy," Ryouji commented.
"So, Shinji, what have you done all day?" Kensuke asked.
"I'm taking high school classes," Shinji said, a little embarrassed. His friend only nodded in an understanding manner.
"Yup," Kaji said, "and Shinji here has already made himself known among the female half of the student body, eh?"
Shinji turned beet-red, and nearly choked on his own cooking. Touji and Kensuke leaned in, surrounding him with wily smiles while Kaji sat back and chuckled. Hikari rolled her eyes.
Once he regained his breath, Shinji proceeded to tell them about Koyomi, albeit reluctantly, and with much prodding.
"…And I only met her today; I don't know beans about her," he concluded. Kensuke shrugged his shoulders, and Touji leaned back in his chair, unimpressed. The four of them ate in silence for a while, until Touji dropped a small bomb.
"Don't feel like you're the only one with… interests, Shinji," he began, ignoring the fact that Shinji didn't consider anybody at high school an 'interest', "Kensuke's taken a shining to somebody…"
"Hey!" Kensuke shouted suddenly, jumping up. "That's my business!"
Touji looked up at his friend with a smirk. "I'm just leveling the playing field…"
Aida shook his fist at the other boy, but he saw that it was futile, and sat down quickly, creating an uneasy peace. Kaji closed his eyes, and beamed. Young love is hilarious; I should know. Shinji just smiled. "I won't ask," he reasoned.
"Thank you," Kensuke said, still eyeing his classmate.
They finished their meal, and Shinji's friends left. Speaking of friends, he thought as he returned to 'his' bedroom, I haven't seen Mana since last night; I wonder if she's alright…
Maya Ibuki rubbed her eyes. She'd slept so little in the last twenty-four hours, and she was effectively fighting a losing battle. She'd maintained her post by Makoto's bed, especially since she'd learned that he had slipped into a coma. She was pretty sure that she had cried for at least thirty minutes straight at this news. It might be another four years. Just like S-Shinji, or… Asuka… she thought. It was already after midnight when she stood up from her small chair and stretched, her bones aching. She looked down at the man's face. I worked with him for a long time, and it took the destruction of everything we knew to draw us together. Unable to stop herself, she leaned in and kissed his lips delicately.
"I'll be back shortly," Maya whispered. She turned around, and left the room. In the hall, she looked around for a vending machine, her stomach rumbling. She reached a row of them in an empty waiting room, where there was a tall man dressed in all black leaning against one of the machines. She stood in front of the one next to him, quietly looking over the selections. Behind her, the man cleared his throat meaningfully. Distracted, Maya turned around, only to have something wet and reeking of chemicals thrust into her face, smothering her. The last thing she remembered was the man's thin, drawn face, his bright, shimmering eyes, and his smile of pure evil.
It wasn't until long after the strange man had dragged Ibuki's limp body out of the area that an elderly janitor came to replace the broken security camera in the corner of the room. As he turned to leave, he spied something lying on the ground. He cut short his unbearably bad rendition of "Baker Street", and picked the object up; it turned out to be a small wallet… Maya's wallet. He peeked inside, seeing a bit of money and identification. He shrugged his shoulders, and placed it on his wheeled cart, to drop it off at the Lost and Found office at the end of his shift.
An hour later, an exhausted Ritsuko Akagi let herself into Makoto Hyuuga's hospital room. To her great surprise, Maya wasn't there. Frowning, she searched the nearby hallways, but in vain. Finally, she made an announcement over the loudspeaker system:
"Would Ms. Maya Ibuki please report to Dr. Ritsuko Akagi's office? Maya Ibuki, please report to Dr. Akagi's office."
Worried, Ritsuko walked to her office, but there was no sign of the younger woman. Sighing, she sat down behind her desk. Her secretary had gone home a few hours before, so Ritsuko boiled herself a new pot of coffee and waited. An hour passed, until a timid knock sounded on the door. Ritsuko jumped up and answered it herself.
"Thank god, M—ack!"
It wasn't Maya at the door, but a simple janitor. Dr. Akagi straightened her white coat a bit and folded her arms.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"Pardon me, Doctor, but I found something that belongs to that lady you're looking for."
Ritsuko's eyebrows rose considerably, and she held out her hand. The worker gave her the wallet. It only took a minute of thumbing through the wallet to confirm that it was Maya's.
"Thank you," she mumbled as she walked past the janitor. Maya's not ditzy enough to just drop her wallet, which means something has happened to her, something… terrible.