December.
She hated this month.
Here in Japan it wasn't as bad, the slight chill that made its way over Germany was a constant reminder of the coming new year as well as the passing of the old one.
She'd be 15 now, a decade of training to be an elite pilot, THE elite pilot. It had all cumulated to this, here in Tokyo-03, she and two other pilots had beaten a total of three angels. Each more challenging than the last.
Her fellow pilot walked next to her, completely unaware of the significance of the day. Though how could he? It wasn't like it was his business anyways. Shinji Ikari was just as he was any other day, the boring Third Child.
Though this boring pilot had been the reason she defeated two angels.
And survived defeating a third.
How he had made it in time to catch her before she sank deeper into that volcano she would never know. What had even compelled him to do that in the first place?
"Is something wrong Asuka?"
Her eyes widened as he shook her from her thoughts.
"What? No, it's nothing," she said, looking away.
As they quickened their pace, she remembered there was at least something to look forwards to. Kaji had agreed to meet her at the mall after school, finally answering the many messages she had left for him. At least she'd be able to distract herself a little today.
ǂ
"I'm home!" the 10-year-old shouted as the front door slammed open.
The girl just stood there for a moment, letting her echoing voice return to her. It shouldn't have been surprising, her father was in America, something she couldn't be bothered to recall. At least he had taken that woman with him.
Asuka made her way through the winding halls of the luxurious home, placing her bag down in the kitchen, her eyes caught on the large, wrapped gift on the table, and card sitting next to it. She was sure it had been put out by her caretaker, a completely meaningless role, she was perfectly capable of being on her own.
She narrowed her eyes, why they insisted on giving her presents was beyond her. She didn't need such childish things anymore.
When she had first told them they had laughed, thinking it was some kind of joke. After a while, it was a losing battle, though they insisted on giving her a stupid gift every year.
What was the point anyways? She was a year older; it didn't matter.
Picking up the card, her eyes scanned it over, the envelope was a deep red and sealed with a rather unique…
*BANG*
Shooting upright, Asuka looked around, finding dozens of eyes staring at her, accompanied by even some slight giggling.
"Miss Soryu," the teacher looked down at her, a deep frown settled on his face, "late night?"
It had been, the lack of sleep seemingly crept up on her during one of his famous boring lectures.
As the teacher returned to the front of the class, and the attention turned away from her, she failed to notice the Third Child, whose eyes were still cast in her direction.
ǂ
The mall was mostly empty lucky enough, though that just meant she had time to go to whichever store she wanted.
A few things here a few things there, it all added up to give Kaji a rather hefty workout as he struggled to hold all the bags in his hands. Before long he was protesting for a break, and the two of them sat down, refreshing themselves with a small snack.
Out of the corner of her eye, Asuka noticed the man shift, pulling something from his pocket, and silently cursed what was to come.
"Happy Birthday Asuka," he said with a smile, handing her a card.
The girl flashed a weak smile, taking it from him.
He hadn't wanted to come, not really. She was sure he just did this for her birthday as a 'gift'. It was so fake to her, just pretending to be nice for one day just because you were older.
"Thanks," she said, opening the card.
It was a standard birthday card, with the same saying she had seen before. Asuka was grateful, but eventually, just put in one of her bags as they continued on their outing.
ǂ
"Thank you for taking me Mr. Kaji, you know I'd love to do this more often," Asuka said with a smile as she opened the apartment door.
"We'll see," he said with a smile, entering the apartment behind her.
"Why is it so dark in here?" Asuka thought out loud as she continued down the corridor to the kitchen.
Setting down her bags she felt in the dark for a light switch, where the heck was…
Her vision burst into light, as the sound of half a dozen voices cheering filled the room.
"SURPRISE!"
The girl just stood there, speechless at the sight. Misato, Hikari, the Stooges… they were all there, with decorations littering the kitchen and living room.
"Happy Birthday Asuka!" Misato said enthusiastically, coming up and ushering her to the kitchen table.
"Um,"
She was still trying to process everything, the decorations, the cheering, and the cake?
It looked like it was supposed to be a cake, but somewhere along the line, it seemed to evolve into a strange mass of breading and icing. On top, a mass of candles was arranged sticking out in every direction, almost mimicking a porcupine.
Shinji stood behind it, a sheepish grin on his face. "I kinda… um,"
"He kinda messed it up and tried to save it," Misato said as she lit the candles, "but I think it'll taste good."
"So, who's idea was this?" Asuka asked, finally able to speak.
Instantly everyone pointed to the Third Child.
"You have Shinji to thank for this." Hikari said, "He's been planning this for a while."
The boy's face turned red at that statement, and he appeared to be trying to hide behind Misato as she lit the candles because of it.
With the final candle lit, Misato pulled back, and Kaji hit the lights, leaving only the 15 candles illuminating the people surrounding the table.
"Go ahead Asuka, make a wish."
"Go ahead Asuka! Make a wish!" her mother smiled at her, the dull glow of the candles illuminating her face.
The four-year-old stood up on her chair, her mother keeping her balanced as she leaned in and blew out the candles one by one as her parents cheered for her.
Taking a breath, Asuka blew out all the candles in one go, followed by a round of applause.
"Shinji cut some cake already!" Toji groaned, readying some plates.
ǂ
She just stood there on the balcony, everyone had gone home, each completely stuffed from the cake. It had truly been wonderful, better than any other sweets she had eaten before, but it was beyond rich.
Misato was in the shower, and Shinji was cleaning up, insisting that he'd do it all himself.
The girl let herself be entranced by the city lights, letting her mind wander and think about what had happened today. How everything had felt…
"Asuka?"
The girl looked back slowly, Shinji must've finished fast, but judging by the towel hanging over his shoulder he wasn't quite done.
"I, um," he pulled a little wrapped box from behind his back, holding it in front of her.
She hadn't received any gifts from anyone, though it wasn't like she wanted any, but somehow this here and now made her feel something she wasn't familiar with.
Reaching out and taking it from him, she pulled the bow that closed the box and lifted the top. Inside, two pairs of red clips were there, staring back at her.
"I thought, since you always wear your A-10 clips, maybe you wanted to use something else for a change," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You got these for me?"
"Yeah, I had a bit of allowance… if you don't like them it's ok I can…"
Before he could finish that sentence, Asuka cleared the distance between them. Wrapping her arms around the boy, she held him in an embrace for a moment.
"Thank you, Shinji, for everything."
She pulled back, but not before the boy felt a slight pressure against his cheek and residual dampness remain as her lips pulled away. Asuka walked back inside, leaving a stunned boy standing there and heading to her room before collapsing on her bed.
It all made sense now.
That's why he saved her.
He cared.
Just a little one-shot that popped in my head since apparently, Asuka has a legit canon birthday. No idea if this is correct in terms of the months during NGE, but hey, who cares?
Until Next Time