Disclaimer: I don't own Eva. Eva owns my soul.
Hey everybody! I'm back again, but here's the deal. I just started my first semester at college, so this fic may not be updated as quick as I would like it. However, I will continue to write this story, just not as fast. The reveiws have been helping a lot too, so please continue reveiwing!
Well with that out of the way, here is the next chapter!
Chapter 4: Runaways
Setting: Large apartment complex in Tokyo-2. 6 years after Impact and Resurrection.
Tokyo-2 was the second largest metropolis in all of Japan, but it was really no smaller than Tokyo-3 in actuality. It was only by a small margin that Tokyo-3 was dubbed the biggest city, but it surely got the title because of how beautiful the city looked. Tokyo-2, on the other hand, was quite possibly the dreariest city on the whole planet.
It never quit raining in Tokyo-2, meaning that sunlight was a impossibility in this town. The rain would always come down at a constant rate, but not bad enough to flood the streets. This kind of weather often lead it's citizens to wonder if Tokyo-2 was destined for people with deep emotional scars or depressing lives. The rain symbolized the pain and discomfort the citizens would feel, crashing down onto the ground the same way people would hit rock bottom when they reached a devestating dead end. Thus, The city was appropriately dubbed "The City of Broken Souls".
This city was just the ideal place for a one Asuka Langley Sorhyu. She ran away, hoping to start a new life away from her horrible old existence. The problem was, she really had nowhere to go. All she knew was that her life was broken, and the only thing she wanted to do was run to a place where there were others like her. There, she may find a much more rewarding life; a life in which she would be happy. It sure as hell would beat that old life she had with the glory-hogging baka, Shinji.
That's how she ended up in this city. The hard part for her was finding a decent paying job so she was able to support herself. First, she had to change her identity to keep Shinji off her trial, just in case he should ever be stupid enough to look for her. Then, she took whatever money she had saved up to pay for the necessities: food, clothes, and a place to live.
She managed to find a small six-mat apartment at a rather large complex. It was cheap, but the yen she had left would not support her for much longer. Fortunately, she somehow mananged to score a job as a waitress at a very expensive restaurant. Asuka wondered why they hired her anyway; she had no experience as a waitress, let alone she has never had a job except for piloting the Eva. The best explanation was that she was very beautiful and would be perfect for a job like that.
Nonetheless, the job paid enough for her to support herself and herself only. She would work her shift, pay the bills, and used the rest on herself. It was her way of living, and she loved it.
Over time, Asuka had begun to realize the error of her own personality. She finally understood that without her Eva, people would not want her anymore. However, she learned that a lot less arrogance and a little more kindness could go a long way. Asuka treated people the way she wanted to be treated now: with respect. To people who had once known her long ago, this kind of change seemed to be practically impossible. But it is true that people can change immensely while growing up, and Asuka was no exception. She was now a more responsible woman, taking care of herself and living a pretty decent life.
However...
She did have a little essence of her old self deep inside of her. For the last six years, she had let the true side of herself speak for her; but the little spark of arrogance she had left was being saved for someone special: the baka. He had taken the chance for happiness in her old life, and if it weren't for him, she would not have to run away in the first place. He had to pay.
Asuka awoke in her little, six mat apartment and looked out the window. Rain again. Nothing unusual. Asuka stood up and walked a few feet to her bathroom; she had to work a morning shift today, so there was very little time to get ready. She looked at the mirror and beheld the beautiful young woman the little girl had become. Typically, Asuka would have bragged about how perfect she was to the others at work, but that Asuka was gone now All that was important now was keeping her job. Bragging like that would surely hurt her job security.
Asuka stared at the face that looked back at her in the reflection. Her left eye was a slightly different color than her other one. Probably because of what happened after Third Impact.
Asuka slowly felt the anger coming out of her again.
Asuka (to herself): Its all his fault...if I ever find that baka again....
Asuka really did have mixed feelings when it came to thinking about Shinji. Sometimes, she wanted him to be as far away from her as possible. Other times, she wanted him to right in front of her face so she could beat the living crap out of him. It was these feelings that tormented her the most.
But she did know that she hated him with all her heart...right?
Asuka was so deep in that line of thought that she did not notice that she was fully clothed in her waitress apparel. She looked over at the clock and freaked out. She had five minutes till her shift started. She darted out of the door and ran down the stairs into the water-drenched streets of Tokyo-2.
Asuka: Scheiss! The baka did it to me again!
Asuka ran pass the crowd of people on the street, occasionally ramming a bystander.
Asuka: Sorry! I apologize! Excuse Me!
Asuka made her way past crowd of people and ran down a less crowded sidewalk on the other side of the street. She only had a few blocks left. She ran past a television store and failed to look at the newsbreak being broadcasted to the TVs on display. If Asuka had, she would have heard of a rather odd "purple monster" terrorizing the neighboring city...
Asuka slowed down to a casual walk as she entered her place of work, The Royal Truffle. She sighed with relief; she made it with two minutes to spare...
Asuka: I really got to keep my head on straight...that's the twelfth time this year...
Boss: Hey, Aki, you were almost late! Did something happen?
Asuka (or Aki, her alias) turned her head to the boss and radiated a brilliant smile at him.
Asuka: No, I'm all right sir. I'm sorry if I worried you.
The boss blushed slightly. She had such a beautiful smile, a true smile. Every guy that met her knew that.
Boss: that's all right. Just be careful about your timing from now on. Now, lets get to work.
Asuka: Yes sir!
Asuka then went into job mode and began working furiously. She would take the orders, and get them out of the kitchen in no time. This girl was a machine when it came to working and the customers absolutely loved her. Her wonderful optimism often broke the bleakness that surrounded the city everyday. Everyone agreed that she was, most possibly, the best waitress in Tokyo-2.
Asuka then proceeded to the bar for the first time that day. She had been busy taking orders in the main dining hall; now she had to take care of the other customers in the building. Asuka quickly gathered the order and proceeded to the kitchen. Ten minutes later, she emerged into the dining hall and once again walked into the bar area. She took the time to look up at the television set to see what was going on. She had been hearing that something big happened in New Tokyo-3, but she no idea what. She glanced at the set quickly and then returned to her original state of concentration.
Television: Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have an update on the "mysterious purple monster incident" that has just occurred in downtown Tokyo-3.
Asuka stopped in her tracks and her concentration broke instantly. She dropped the order with no regret, and slowly turned her head towards the television.
Television: As we stated before, the monster first appeared to jump straight out of the ground as if there was some secret underground cave where it was resting...
Asuka (to herself): NERV headquarters...it can't be possible...
The citizens of Tokyo-2 knew nothing on the incident of involving the Evas and the angels. Hell, none of them had ever heard of an underground NERV facility. To them, this all just seemed to be some phemoneon in science.
Asuka knew what the 'monster' was, but what the hell was going on here...
Television: The monster then continued its rampage by jumping a top the various high rises and then disappeared into the mountains. We know go to Jiro Takesun who is on the scene of the destruction.
Jiro: Sho, we do not have any idea what's going on here. But as you can see, this monster is very destructive and very agile. What is even odder is the local government officials have told the citizens not talk about what happened during this devastating incident. It is as if this thing is a product of government experimentation.
Asuka (to herself): You bet your ass it is. But it is not just any ordinary monster you read about in fairy tales...
Jiro: In fact, the only reason we know of this incident is through the video footage taken by numerous citizens.
Sho: Right. let's roll that clip again.
The TV showed a clip of the purple Eva beast jumping straight out of the ground, and leaping high into the air.
Asuka stared at the footage in horror. It was Shinji' s Eva all right. But...that was impossible. The Eva was still in space, wasn't it? And who was piloting it now?
Asuka stiffened suddenly, avoiding the commotion all around her. She could hear her boss addressing her, but she didn't care.
She knew what was going on. Shinji was back.
Sho: Ladies and Gentlemen, I have just received word that the beast appeared to be heading towards...Tokyo-2...right before it disappeared into the wilderness. Now this is not proven fact, but...
Asuka collapsed to the ground. All the people in the bar were startled by the action and looked down at her with concern. A couple of the customers helped the young girl off of the ground and onto her feet. She did not liked being helped like that, but it didn't matter right now.
Shinji was back. And he was heading her way.
Setting: A cave deep in the mountains.
Sho: ...citizens should take the action of preparing themselves with the proper supplies if the monster should ever appear in the city...
Shinji turned off the screen inside of the plug. He managed to get outside reception to see what was going on, but now he wished he hadn't. There was nothing good that he wanted to hear. They knew where his destination was now. He had to think of a way out of this or else he was gonna be in a shit load of trouble.
Shinji: Well...at least they won't be able to find this cave. Running trough the river should cover our tracks if the footsteps weren't too deep...
Eva: don't worry. I've managed to configure the Eva's own gravitational field a bit. Its footsteps are aware to the terrain, meaning tracks would be impossible.
Shinji relaxed a little after hearing this.
Shinji: Good. That's a relief. But I still need to find a way to get to Tokyo-2 without being caught.
Eva: Why don't we try to...
Shinji: What do mean by 'we'?
Shinji looked up at the Eva with a slight hint of curiousity.
Eva: Don't you want me to go with you?
Shinji: Come on Rei! You don't exactly fit the status quo. Besides, if you didn't already know, the feds are looking for you.
Eva:...
Shinji: I did my part of the deal. Now you have to do yours. After that we go our separate ways.
Eva: Are you so dense Ikari?
Shinji shot a nasty glare at the machine.
Shinji: What did you say?!
Eva: I already told you, there is evil approaching us soon. I can't just leave you yet.
Shinji: You don't need me to save the world. I just cause catastrophe, that's all. Ya know that.
Eva: You are wrong. The result of the impact was not your fault. It would not have happened any other way.
Shinji:...
Eva: Death and Rebirth was destined to occur. You were chosen to be the host for that event: the hero of this world. You must take the responsibility as such.
Shinji:...Whatever. Just tell me where Asuka's at.
Eva: sigh. Fine. But you won't be able to find her so easily.
Shinji: How so?
Eva: Think about it. I was able to sense her presence in Tokyo-2, but I cannot tell which street or address she lives at. If we can get into the city, there will be a better range of detection and I can find her exact location.
Shinji: We already talked about this. You can't go into the city like that.
Eva: Exactly. I cannot go like this, but I will be able to transmit my soul into a special device inside the plug. You will find it next to the door.
Shinji stepped into the discarded plug and grabbed a small machine attached to the inside. It was the same size as a small cell phone.
Eva: This device was the distress beacon we used in case the plug could not be located. I've managed to convert my very essence into its power source, making me able to help you find Asuka. It works just like a cell phone: you talk to me through the mouthpiece and I'll tell you when we are close to Asuka. That simple.
Shinji: Why didn't you tell me sooner?
Eva: the Eva will become idle when I get into the device. Anything could happen to it and we would not know.
Shinji: Oh, well. We don't need it anymore Rei.
Shinji feels a slight rumble coming from the phone and reacts by talking into the speaker. She got out of the Eva fast...
Shinji: Can you hear me Rei?
Rei: Yes Ikari.
Shinji: Good. Let's go. We can hitchhike there. No one here knows who I am, so we can walk in the open.
Rei: But you should probably get a disguise to avoid government agents and the military. They know who you are...
Shinji: sigh. All right...all right...I'll go incognito just in case.
Shinji put the phone in his pocket and began making tracks toward Tokyo-2. Meanwhile, Rei took the opportunity to recap on what happened so far. Her plan was working perfectly. She knew Ikari needed a reason to save the planet, and she had just set it up for him. It was all up to Shinji now...
Setting: NERV Headquarters
Personnel 2: The Eva still has not been located commander. It has disappeared for the past 24 hours now...
Misato: Keep looking. The United Nations said they would help by blocking the borders of the mountains. It won't get out without us knowing.
Personnel 1: I don't understand. Why don't we just tell them about who is piloting the Eva?! We could have gotten the Eva back by now!
Misato gave the personnel a petrifying glare.
Misato: If we exposed Shinji to the world, he would surely die at the hands of the very people he protected before the Impact. Didn't you hear the people out there? They want the 'monster' dead! What if they found out a boy was running the show?
Personnel 1:..I'm sorry...I did not mean it like that...
Misato: Shinji is more important than the Eva right now. Find him alive. I want to talk to him personally. There is something going on inside his head...
Setting: Outskirts of Tokyo-2. Sunrise.
Truck Driver: Where'd ya say you were headed? Tokyo-2?
The truck driver looked over at his foreign companion. The stowaway had a short yet bushy beard and a mustache to match. His clothes were rather damp and his cap was down right ugly.
Oh well...It was the best Shinji could come up with on such short notice.
Shinji: Jah. Zats de place.
Truck Driver: And why are you so wet? You get washed up on shore or something?
Shinji looked down and forgot that he was soaking in LCL; the plug was full of it. He should have really washed up before jumping into action.
Shinji: Oh, I have been working out near ze river all day. Ve vere constructing a new bridge and before I knew it, I fell in ze river.
Truck driver: ok, I see.
Shinji hated faking this German accent. He sounded like a complete moron using it.
A few minutes later, the driver decided to break the silence
Truck Driver: You have family in the city?
Shinji: jah. My wife.
Truck Driver: oh yeah? What is she like?
Shinji told him the first thing that came to mind.
Shinji: She can be rather whiny at some points, but, she is ze most vonderful woman from all of Germany. I met her when I moved to Germany ten years ago, and I was never able to keep my eyes off her gorgeous red hair and her lovely smile.'sigh' We did usually get along well, but sometimes ve vould have arguments that vould get out of hand . It got so bad, that I left Germany and came back home a year ago. She followed me; she told me that she vas sorry and she wanted to be vith me; and I couldn't deny my feelings for her either...and vell...you know vats next...
Shinji stopped right there. If Asuka was here to hear any of this, he could kiss his balls goodbye. That was quite possibly the lamest story he has ever told, even if there was some truth to it.
Truck Driver: Yeh, that's the same way with my wife. The dang broad can't stop nagging at me for five minutes. Don't worry. I'll bring you to the city.
Shinji: Thank you very....vats zat?
Shinji looked out the window. There was several military vehicles and barricades set up along the highway. A few soldiers stood at the barricade, as if waiting for someone to drive up.
Truck Driver: Yeah, the UN decided to set up barricades all over the mountain roads. They're still looking for that big ass monster thing, but that barricade sure as hell won't stop it.
Shinji stiffened a bit. The barricade couldn't stop the Eva, but it could stop trucks with wanted hitchhikers inside. The UN knew about his position in NERV, and if they found out it was him in here, he would have to face the wrath of Misato.
He feared that most of all.
A solider approached the passenger side of the truck and looked up inside of it.
Shinji tried to keep casual....
Shinji: Guten Morgen. I mean...( raises his hand) o-hay-ou...
...but failed
The solider looked over at the scruffy foreigner with suspicion.
Solider:....whatever. Where ya two headed?
Truck Driver: This trucks hauling food sir. We're just delivering it to the city
Another solider opened the back of the truck and looked around while the other one kept his eyes on the passengers.
Finally, the solider in the back came out.
Solider 2: Its all clear Sarge. They're ok to go.
Solider: All right go ahead.
The Truck driver put the truck into gear and prepared to take off. Then the solider turned back toward the cab suddenly.
Solider: Hey you!
Shinji froze in terror and slowly turned his head towards to sergeant.
Shinji: j-ja?
The soldier looked straight at Shinji and kept silent for a couple of seconds.
Solider: Learn to speak japanese. That was terrible.
Shinji: ja. Ok.
The truck took off and Shinji fell back in relief. That was way too close.
Truck Driver: Don't let him get to you. Your speaking is just fine.
Shinji looked at the driver with slight disbelief. He was kind of suprised that this guy hasn't caught on yet either...
...but he should probably quit while he was ahead.
Shinji: thank you.
Setting: Tokyo-2
The truck pulled up to the side of an empty street inside the edge of the city. Shinji jumped out and looked up at the driver.
Shinji: thank you for ze ride.
Truck Driver: yeah, I'm only sorry that I couldn't take you farther into the city, but I only need to go this far. You better get home before you wife gets pissed. See ya around!
Shinji waited till the truck was out of view. The instant it turned the corner, Shinji yanked off his fake beard and cap. It felt good getting that shit off.
Shinji: Whew! That was weird.
The phone in his pocket rumbled and Shinji quickly picked it up.
Rei: where did you get that disguise anyway?
Shinji: I found it in the cave. It belonged to that skeleton in the corner.
Rei: That's disturbing.
Shinji: Yeah, the beard was a little white and fragile, but I got it to stay. I thought it looked pretty good for a half-assed oufit...
Rei: Not Really. It looked rather disgusting.
Shinji pretended to sound hurt by that comment.
Shinji: ow... my pride......anyway, where do we start?
Rei: Her presence is coming from the north, towards the center of the city. We shall head there.
Shinji: All right, let's go. Asuka's waiting for us...
He smirked a little.
Shinji: She just doesn't know it yet.
At that point, Operation 'find Asuka' had finally begun.
End of Chapter 4
Honestly, that chapter was more of a 'fill in' chapter if you know what I mean. The only really important plot point is the change of location, which will remain to be Tokyo-2 for a while. I do plan a LOT of Shinji/Asuka for the next few chapters because I feel that there is a lack of interaction between them (you cannot have a good romance story if the two characters don't interact!).
Besides that, I will try to udpate the story as soon as I can. oh, and R&R please:)
I'll see you all later!