Author: FlyingOct
Chapter: 06 -- Pushing to Liminality
How embarassing! It had been three hours since Megumi had gotten out of the Evangelion, but she was still coughing up that nasty liquid Dr. Ibuki called 'LCL.' Ibuki had assured her that the gagging sensation would go away after a while, but with all this technology NERV had, it still couldn't find a way to get this stuff out of her body, or better yet find some replacement. She had been in the shower at the pilot's changing room for most of the time she had been out of that weapon. The LCL was alright when she was inside the entry plug, but as soon as she stepped into fresh air, the liquid almost became like some kind of gooey sac, clinging to every inch of her plug suit and exposed skin. It disgusted her.
As she stood there, rinsing her body clean, she couldn't forget the feeling. The feeling of being inside the EVA, of being connected to and controlling something with so much power. She felt scared when she thought about it, but at the same time she felt a deep urge to feel that connection again. It was probably a normal occurrance, but she almost felt like she had left something of herself behind inside the Evangelion, which had been replaced with something from the EVA. It wasn't something tangible, not something she could readily feel or remember, but she was aware that something was different. She was different.
In a small corner of her mind, she thought about Kunihirou, but the powerful experience she had just been through blocked out anything more than a passing wonder. She was so engrossed in her piloting experience that she momentarily lost control of her body. She lost her balance just for a second, and unfortunately her instinct chose to catch her fall using her left arm. She cried out at the sudden pain as her arm, which had been fractured only a couple weeks before, collapsed under the strain. Soryu Megumi fell the the floor, tenderly holding her left elbow with her good hand. The barrage of tests that would follow-up her battle would be far more than the simple X-rays she now wished to undergo.
--
Meanwhile, at the base of the Renesis anti-NERV group, Megumi was all Kunihirou could think about. Not only was he worried about her well-being, as usual his nervous tendancies pushed his thoughts into the future. He worried about what she would think when she arrived home to an empty apartment. He hadn't had time to leave a note or anything. Megumi would arrive to a cold apartment, with no clue as to where he had gone or when he would return. His clothes and cell phone were both there. His bed had been left unmade, since he had no time to make it before he was taken away by Asuka.
He thought about the last time he had seen her. It seemed like forever ago, but had really only been a few days. She cried... She cried because she was sad. Maybe she was sad she had locked him out? No, that wasn't something she would dwell on for too long. He didn't know why she had cried. However, he surmised that he had passed out from the heat. That was the last time he had seen her.
He worried about what she would think of him, if she thought he would abandon her and their relationship for no reason. He had been known to make similar decisions in the past, as she well knew. The only hope he had was Megumi's cell phone. There was a message left by Asuka still on Megumi's phone. Watanabe wondered if Asuka had called her half-sister's cell phone using a random number or with her actual phone. He eventually came to the conclusion that he would have to covertly attempt to contact Megumi. He knew without asking Ikari or Asuka that he would not be allowed to contact her, since he assumed her phone conversations would be monitored by NERV. He would have to be patient.
There was a light knock at the bedroom's door. Kuni looked up from his troubled thoughts. "Yes?"
"Can I come in?" It was Asuka's voice, but more subdued than Kunihirou had heard it before.
"It's your place," he responded casually. He still felt uncomfortable after seeing her reaction at having a roommate forced upon her. The door slowly slid open, letting in more light than the single table lamp which had been the room's only light source. Soryu frowned as she looked at her roommate. He was still sitting on the edge bed, his arms folded at his waist. He was hunched over a bit, and because of that he had to look up at Asuka to meet her frown with a hollow, sad stare. Neither one spoke for several moments. Kuni simply had nothing pertinant to say, whereas Asuka was holding back the tears which had begun to form in the corner of her eyes. This kid... She knew how things were, but he reminded her of how Shinji used to be so much...
"You know, you're a much different person than I thought you were," Asuka stated, her voice regaining some of its normal volume and strength. Kuni raised an eyebrow but made no further response. She walked into his room as she talked. "When we first began watching you, it seemed like you were just a normal guy. You were decent at school, into cars and racing, with a small group of loose-knit friends. You seemed obnoxious and selfish, even when you were with your friend... I forget his name."
"Fuugo." That brought about a whole new set of worries in Kuni's mind, but he pushed them aside and tried to concentrate on Asuka's voice.
"But, you're really a very thoughtful, quiet person. And you seem to worry a lot about things you can't possibly hope to control. We know that you've been on your own since you were barely in secondary school. You like to be in control of your situation, totally. So when there are things that you can't control, you either block them out or run away from them. It was NERV who setup the meeting between you and Megumi, but that was only to lure Megumi to Tokyo. After that you lost any value they saw in you."
"Gee, thanks. That sure makes me feel a whole lot better," he said sarcastically. She sat down next to him. He began to feel a little uncomfortable. The way she moved, how she looked in her peripheral vision... It was all very similar to Megumi, even though the two sisters probably barely knew each other. For some reason he was bothered by these similarities.
"Don't take it the wrong way. Shinji... Mr. Ikari saw that you were there for a purpose, that it was no mere coincidence that you had been so close to Megumi." Watanabe stared at his knees, making sure he didn't breath too deeply and cause his elbow to brush against Asuka's body. "He knows things, he's seen things that no one else could hope to understand."
"Is that why I'm here, because I knew Megumi? I haven't seen her for years, we had only just run into each other a couple weeks ago-" As usual he jumped to the worst conclusion he could think of. To be used by another person for their own means...
"Run into each other? Come on, Kunihirou, you knew the moment that you saw her. You still had a special place in your heart for her, some feeling that you had a hard time killing when you ran away from her last time." She stopped, seeing that he wasn't reacting well to her current topic. "Here... Most of us were around when the Messengers attacked before. Shinji and I were the most directly affected, of course, but we have several people who worked in different NERV branches or companies involved with NERV from back then. They are people who know what really went on there and don't want it to happen again."
"Asuka... what did happen? The Messengers attacked and were beaten, then you guys disappeared, dropped off the face of the earth." She sighed. It was an experience that she didn't enjoy remembering.
"It's a complicated story, but I will say that the man in charge of NERV hasn't changed since that time. He tried to control something we refer to as 'Third Impact,' in which he would have been the god to a new world of his choosing. He makes others think that he wants to have his dead wife back, but in reality he wants complete and total power over creation of a new world."
"He must have failed then, if we're still here," Kuni stated quietly. "And he must be trying again. But I don't understand what that has to do with the Evangelions or the Messengers." He finally gathered the courage to look at Asuka, but his eyes darted past her after just a moment of eye contact. "I mean, is there some kind of secret recipe or spell or something that calls the Messengers to Earth so people can try and be God? That doesn't make sense."
"Like I said, its complicated. Do teachers still teach about the Second Impact?"
"Yea, of course. It was the most pivotal event of our generation." His gaze returned to the floor in front of his feet as he got angry that he couldn't meet Asuka's gaze.
"It is a lie. In 1997 Man uncovered the first Messenger, Adam, buried in the Antarctic. They tried to recover him from the ice, but he awoke and caused the explosion which killed three billion people. The people who contacted and awoke Adam did this on purpose, because they knew that more Messengers would come to Earth. They used genetic technology to recreate Adam, and to control his clones they were given control devices which could keep the unformed mind of these new weapons dormant. Those are Evangelion.
"Using EVA, that man defeated all of the Messengers which attacked Tokyo-3. He then initiated the Third Impact, but failed."
"So, why are they attacking again?"
"We aren't totally sure," she responded, her voice faltering a little. "But we believe that the failed Third Impact created a kind of universal 'reset', and that the Messengers would inevitably begin their invasion at some point in time, in an effort to join with Adam and destroy mankind. Whether the fourteen year delay is intentional or some kind of coincidence, who knows?" There was a long pause. Asuka looked to Kuni, wondering if he would ask a question or continue staring at the ground. He was trying to digest the world of information Asuka had just informed him of. The Second Impact was caused by a Messenger? Or by man tampering with power beyond his control?
"Why... Why are they called Messengers? Are they really sent or controlled from some kind of higher force?" Asuka grinned just a little. So, he was interested, after all.
"That's a good question. Unfortunately, no one is really sure. We know they learn from each other, but seem to be totally autonomous when it comes to actions and reactions. They always attack alone, but at the same time there are some inherant constants in the attacks. We dissected their DNA last time they invaded and discovered that they are very close to human in that way. However, they seemed to be made out of light waves instead of compounds like we are. No one has ever discovered anything to connect humans to Messenger beyond the genetic similarities."
"Could they be other forms of mankind?" Asuka did not answer, but simply put an arm over Kunihirou's shoulders before leaving.
After Watanabe Kunihirou was sure she had left his doorway, he punched the wall beside his bed. What kind of man was he, unable to control the base physical attraction between men and women? He couldn't be with Asuka... She was Megumi's blood relative, right? The thought bothered him, no matter how much his body enjoyed it.
--
Megumi had been warned by an agent of NERV named Horaki that Kunihirou may not be at the apartment when she arrived back. So, when this turned out to be true, the young Soryu made no special note of his status. She was beaten and tired. Fighting against a giant Messenger was nearly as difficult as being poked and prodded by scientists for what seemed like hours. Her muscles ached so much that it was a blessing when she lay down on her bed. Her mind had settled down a great deal, and she fell asleep quickly. As her phone vibrated inside her purse three rooms away in the kitchen, another message was left by 'Sister.'
Agent Horaki felt horribly for the young girl. As she sat outside of the apartment in her car, Hikari was terrified at the prospect of her situation. Everything was happening again. She was stupid for thinking anything else. The Commander was going to put that poor girl through hell, and her boyfriend had dropped out of Tokyo-3. Intelligence reports were skewed once the Messenger Sachiel entered the city, so he must have left then. Hikari hoped, for Megumi's sake, that he had simply evacuated and would soon return. She squinted as the rising sun peeked between two buildings at her freckled face. That girl would need someone to lean on in the hard times she would surely face ahead.
She yawned. It had been a hectic night. Cleanup was already beginning. Soon people would return to the city for a late start to their day. Hikari's double shift would be over in a few hours. Feeling suddenly lonely, she picked her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed Touji's number. It rang and rang without answer, so a voicemail would have to suffice. "Hey, it's me, I was just wondering... When you feel like it, maybe we could get some coffee or something? Call me back, bye." A modest smile grew on her face as she set the cell phone down. Her mind drifted for just a bit before the phone rang. She picked it up again quickly, hoping he was returning her call. Even though she immediately felt bad, she was disappointed when the number turned out to be Kensuke. "Yeah, Horaki here."
"Hikari, I've got something interesting you should know." His voice was distorted by the connection boundary the Geofront made.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure if you're aware, but recently there was a hack released that allows a sender to mask their message's signal from the third generation cellular network. Therefore, this hack makes it possible to contact people secretly even if the phones are monitored on both the sending and receiving end."
"So what? It's illegal, sure, but nothing groundbreaking. The government usually cracks down pretty quickly."
"True, but what if I told you I found a way to read those secret messages?" His voice was full of excitement, none of which Hikari shared.
"I'd say you have too much time on your hands and should mind your own business," she flaltly stated.
"What if that girl, the Second Children had just received a hidden message, and no one else knew but you and me?"
"That means we would probably have to provide her with a cell from us, if we were correctly following protocol. Listen, if this isn't going anywhere..."
"Oh, it is, just be patient-"
"My patience ran out about four hours ago, Kensuke! Spit it out," she hissed.
"Megumi's sister... well, step-sister is sending her messages." Hikari's eyes suddenly buldged when she realized who he meant.
"Asuka!"
--
Soryu Asuka sat on a wooden stool in her "second" apartment's kitchen, slowly enjoying a glass of cold water. She had closely watched over Kunihirou for the weeks since the reappearance of the Messengers. Ikari thought it would be a good idea for them to visit Tokyo-3, to collect Kuni's car and for a bit of relaxation and reconnoissance away from the manmade island that housed the Renesis headquarters. Asuka had made a long list of preparations and rules for the trip. She was dead and gone to the world, and she wished to remain as such. Even though she hated the idea, she had dyed her hair black and wore black-colored contact lenses. Kuni wore a business suit and shaved the sorry excuse of a goatee from his chin. A fresh haircut and a pair of round glasses made him a different person.
In the past two months she had learned little about Watanabe Kunihirou. Although they spoke often and sometimes had long conversations, she could pry little personal information from the younger man. She sometimes imagined that his careful words and crafty manipulation of topics was similar to the way she had been as a teenager, but no. Comparing this kid to the way she used to be was just a way that her subconscious was trying to cause a bond to grow between them. She was sure that he felt the same way. He only slipped when she spoke about Megumi, but he always quickly recovered and patched that emotional wall.
Asuka was excited. Her half-sister was less than two kilometers away. She hadn't seen Megumi since the girl had been born, but Asuka had used her connections to watch over Megumi after she entered secondary school. Recently, that task had become easier after the assemblance of the Renesis group. Shinji, of course, understood how much a family connection meant to Asuka. She knew that Kunihirou was nervous as ever, but hopefully things would work out well for all parties involved.
The sound of a door sliding open prompted Asuka's attention. Watanabe walked out of the darkness of the hallway and into the living room's light, tugging at his dark red tye. "This thing is so uncomfortable. I'm not a suit-wearing type of person," he complained. Asuka simply smirked and looked away from him, towards the window that faced downtown Tokyo-3.
"Just pretend for a couple days that you're an important junior executive on a business trip with your boss, me," Asuka stated, a smile growing on her face as she went on. "Are you any good at acting?" She looked at him and laughed at the pathetic look on his face. "No, I guess you aren't. Well, you probably know the type of guy I mean, the type who will do anything to get up the corporate ladder faster. You know?"
"You mean an ass-kissing, suit-wearing, know-it-all... business-type?" he deadpanned.
"Yes, yes! Especially the ass-kissing!" she laughed. Kuni had that disgusted look on his face again.
"Ts... You really are desperate for attention, huh? Let's go." He walked over to the door as Asuka gathered her briefcase. He put on the glasses and cleared his throat. "Oh, let me get your briefcase, Ms. Kamina!" Asuka quickly turned around and was shocked. His whole aura had changed suddenly. The suit looked very good on him, he stood tall and firmly with his chest out. His tone of voice had also changed, growing higher, truely making it seem like he wanted to carry her briefcase for her.
"OK, Mr. Tsuchiya," she said as she held the briefcase out towards him. He grabbed it quickly and with an overbearing smile. "Oh, please stop smiling like that before your face breaks, you idiot."
"I'm very sorry, Ms. Kamina, but when you're around I just can't help it, ma'am!" he stated happily as he bowed and scooped up her briefcase. As they left the apartment which had been rented under a false name and paid for by Renesis, Asuka inwardly cringed. She hadn't called anyone an idiot as a term of endearment since...
--
Ikari Shinji was not happy. The mass of paperwork on his desk amounted to a load of crap. The auspicious man who stood in front of his shining wooden desk smiled. "So, what you're saying is that I have no choice," Shinji said as he pointed to the papers. The man shrugged.
"I'm sorry, but that is correct." The man's voice was smooth and confident; the voice of a backstabber. He was tall and thin with an almost feminine face. His hair was an unusual light shade of black which may have been considered grey by some people.
"The Federation has come to this conclusion... without any change in the way we do our business, without prompting? I find that hard to believe, Mr. Observer. We have shared a very open exchange of information in the past-" Ikari stated in argument against this unexpected development.
"That is, until you brought that boy here." Ikari's brow furrowed behind his visor.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked, trying to mask the angry surprise in his voice. The man shrugged again, still wearing that carefree smile which bothered Ikari so much. Just as Shinji's eyes were covered by his visor, the observer's eyes were covered by circular glasses tinted a deep red.
"The Federation decided to fund your little party here to watch over NERV and its actions, not to provide some kind of backup force." Ikari shifted his weight in his chair and waved a hand in the air.
"I don't know what you mean. He can provide vital insight into their Second pilot's mind-"
"True, I suppose, but don't dodge the real reason behind his extraction." Ikari shook his head and leaned back in his chair.
"You've done a lot of research, I see," the old man stated gruffly, deciding to give up for the time being.
"Yes. As you said, you don't really have a choice in the matter," the Observer said lightly as he turned and headed for the office's door. "I suggest you tighten up your organization, Ikari. The Federation won't tolerate any mistakes at this vital time for us."
Just as the door slid open, Ikari asked one more question of the other man. "Just how much do you think you know?" The man smiled but did not respond. He merely paused at the room's threshold for a second before leaving. Shinji sighed loudly as he tried to release some of his tension. "These unexpected changes aren't good for a man my age," he said with a heavy voice to no one in particular. He pressed the button on his intercom.
"Yes, sir?" came the somewhat distorted voice of his trusted subordinate.
"Tanimoru, please make sure our guest is allowed access and granted a private quarters. He may be here for an extended stay."
"I understand." Shinji sighed again as the radio went silent again.
"Do the ends... truly justify the means?"
--
Kunihirou felt alive again as he shifted into second gear. "Ah, I didn't expect you to be this good!" Asuka said happily from the passenger seat. He was surprised to see a wide smile on Asuka's face as he glanced over at her for just a second before he swung the rear end of the car out as he went around a sharp corner.
"I guess I'll take that as a compliment. So, what are we supposed to be doing?" he asked as he slowed to match the traffic ahead.
"You know that small park across the street from your old place?" Kuni nodded. "We're going to pick up some lunch and have a nice little picnic on our lunch break from the busy office. Make sure you approach the parking lot from the business district."
"Yes, ma'am." Asuka sensed a contentment in the voice of her counterpart. Whether is was from being united with his beloved car or because he was about to see Megumi, she didn't know. There was no simple way to find out. "Asuka... Will I be allowed to see her?"
"Who?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.
"Megumi, you idiot, who else?" Kunihirou exclaimed without a second thought. Again, Asuka felt her heart twinge. "Oh!" He pressed hard on the brakes, nearly locking up all four of the vehicle's tires in an attempt to lose a great deal of speed in a small amount of time.
"Jeez, did you see a traffic cop or what!" Soryu yelled, her surprised anger very evident in her voice.
"No, look to the left of the car." She did so, but had no idea as to what she was supposed to be seeing. "On that bench reading a very book. The girl with blue hair." Now she found the target very quickly, and as realization dawn on her, Soryu Asuka could not help but gasp. "It's Ayanami," Kuni added lightly, of course not knowing the things that Asuka knew about that girl.
Before Asuka could protest, the old Silvia pulled a quick U-turn and pulled into the parking lane in front of the aforementioned Ayanami. Kunihirou pulled the e-brake and got out of the car while Asuka found her body suddenly stiff. He did not think that, perhaps, this girl was being watched by NERV agents who would recognize and apprehend him. "Ayanami, what's up?" he asked excitedly. The blue-haired girl looked up slowly, as if she hadn't heard the loud car pull up only a meter away.
"Watanabe-san?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Why are you dressed in such a way?" He came to a sudden realization that he was supposed to be undercover. He fingered the edge of the suit's jacket and tried to come up with an excuse.
"I got a new job. I'll bet you never saw me as a business-type, huh?" he chuckled. Her face remained cold, her eyes betraying not one sense of emotion. She looked back down at her book.
"You have dropped out of school." Kunihirou was unsure what to do and began to panic.
"Um, well, I guess you're right... hehe..." He scratched the back of his head and looked around for several seconds before he remembered that Asuka was still in his car. He suddenly pointed to her and said, "Oh, here in my car is my boss-"
"I do not require a ride," she stated, interrupting him.
"Ah, OK, well I just thought I would say hello... Hello!" She simply flipped over to the next page of her book. "Well, goodbye, Ayanami!" She watched as he ran around his car and got in. The woman in the car cursed at him as he sped off. Rei looked down at her book, annoyed by the fact that she had somehow lost her page.
Her thoughts wandered to that boy. It was obvious to her that he was a liar. There was no morally correct company that would hire a dropout in an executive position. His behavior was odd. She did not understand his actions. She pulled her class list out of her bookbag and found his name. Next to it was his cell phone number.
--
In the car which had sped off, Soryu Asuka was not happy. "What the hell are you thinking, huh!" He shrugged a little, realizing what may have just happened. "She saw right through your little costume, didn't she? The four or five NERV agents probably could, too, do you know that? You may have just ruined this mission!"
Watanabe Kunihirou sat in his driver's seat, trying to concentrate on his driving more than the woman yelling at him. He was failing. "I'm sorry..." was all he could say.
"You're sorry?" Her tone had softened significantly, for no reason evident to the young man.
"Yea... I just suddenly saw her, my classmate there... I wanted to have a part of my normal life back. I wasn't thinking about this mission, only about myself, so I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the mission." There was a long pause as they sat still at a stoplight.
"I don't understand why I'm not angry," Asuka said quite plainly. "Anyway, here's that park. No use reprimanding you here. But... That story about me being your boss, that was a good cover."
"Thanks, even though it was your idea. Remember?" Watanabe glanced at Soryu, a small smile which asked forgiveness on his face, before the two stepped out of the vehicle. Kuni ran around to the passenger side and took Asuka's briefcase again, bowing deeply as she ran a hand through her dyed black hair. They found a bench which faced the apartment complex and took their seat.
"Open that briefcase, please," Asuka asked. Kunihirou did so without pause, finding two copies of the current day's newspaper inside. He handed one to his companion before beginning to read the first page. Asuka turned to the business section. "Now all we can do is wait," she said with a sigh.
Nearly two hours passed. Kunihirou had exhausted the newspaper's material long ago, while Asuka continued to look at the same business page with interest. He had began to notice her looking above the paper on occasion, moreso now than before. Although he wasn't sure, he also thought that she was becoming nervous and impatient.
Across the street, Soryu Megumi was returning home from another long day of school followed by synch testing. She had become used to the long days and now recovered some of her strength while inside the EVA. As she walked along the street on which she lived, Megumi failed to notice an old Nissan Silvia parked between two large vans at the park across the road.
Suddenly she heard a rustling of papers. She may have missed it, but the traffic on the road had been stopped recently for a military parade a couple blocks away. Her first thought was that it was simply a stray newspaper, but in these days, Tokyo-3 was one of the cleanest cities in the world. Littering was almost eradicated because of steep fines. Megumi's gaze was drawn across the street, to the park, towards the source of the noise. The only occupants were two business people, who were reaching for a newspaper which had been caught in an unexpected breeze. As the paper was pushed further away, they seemed to give up.
Now she saw that there was a man and a woman, about the same age, but Megumi thought they looked too young to be executives. Just as she stopped walking and began to squint, trying to get a clearer image of the two litterbugs, they suddenly stopped moving. The man seemed to point in Megumi's direction, and the woman's eyes seemed to trace her exact location.
So there she stood, two business people staring at her as she stared right back. Megumi was taken aback just a little when the woman suddenly grabbed the man's face and kissed him deeply. She finally sighed and realized that they must be having an affair. But to make their infidelity so public was uncalled for! She reached her complex without further complication, resolved to have a quiet dinner and a hot bath. According to Agent Horaki, Kunihirou had been injured during the Messenger's attack and was being treated in NERV's hospital. Megumi had simply been too busy to visit.
--
Ayanami Rei lay on her bed, surely producing even more wrinkles in her school uniform. Her mind wandered between two different thoughts. At first she thought of her classmate Watanabe, who had suddenly approached her today for a second time. Certainly, there must have been some kind of reason for his actions, but she could not identify any such reason. She had attempted to contact him, but found his cell number disconnected.
She also thought of Commander Ikari. In the past she had held a deep respect for him. After all, he was the only person who she had regular contact with. But recently, things had changed greatly. That... Shinji... Now Ikari spent all his time with the younger child, almost completely ignoring Rei. This bothered her a great deal, as it brought up many emotions that she did not know. She would sometimes be overwhelmed by anger or loneliness, but Ayanami had nowhere to turn.
--
In a scene that was really nothing short of a beautiful sunset on the highway leading out of Tokyo-3, two companions rode in silence. Both had been shocked, by the same action, into muteness. One searched for her reasons, while the other searched his feelings. The numerous excuses both of them had were met with denial before reaching their mouths.
The Renesis VTOL was waiting for them at the storage garage at which Kunihirou's Nissan would be kept. Too greatly perturbed by the experiences of the day, Kunihirou had forgotten to take his motion sickness medicine beforehand. Mere minutes after liftoff, he could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness just like before.
This time, however, he was saved by the feeling of a woman's hand in his own, her warm smile pushing away his sickness. The deepness of her eyes, even with the contacts, and the soft look on her face... It was something she hadn't shown anyone in a very long time, and it was something Kunihirou had never seen in Megumi.
END: Chapter 06
Author's Note The names of Kunihirou's business character was derived from Tsuchiya Keiichi, the "drift king" of Japan. Asuka's character's name is from the anime RahXephon. In a scene which I cut from the finished version, the two fight over their names until reaching the conclusion that they should pick their own. The meaning of Kuni's name is obvious, considering he is a decent "drifter" in his own mind. Asuka's, on the other hand, may or may not have had a hidden meaning.