02:9 – Awakening
Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or any of the characters they are the property of their respective creators. Please be aware that no profit is being made from this work of fan fiction.
The last thing I could remember clearly was sitting in the entry plug of Unit-01, waiting to die. Everything that followed is hazy, fractured images of what I think was my mother interspersed with what sounded like Asuka calling my name. I saw people all around me, so many faces I did not know, all of them speaking, a concert of voices speaking words I could not understand. I knew neither where I was nor what was happening even as the urge to sleep became overpowering…surrendering at last to oblivion's warm embrace I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When, at last, I woke my head was spinning and there was a bitter taste in my mouth reminiscent of my own bile. I tried to open my eyes but found them resistant, the eyelids held by the last vestiges of sleep. I tried to reach up with my left arm and rub them away only to find I was unable to move my appendage. Forcing my eyes open finally I turned my bleary gaze to my left side, looking down at my arm. I was shocked to find that there were a multitude of tubes and wires protruding from it and the wrist was bound securely to the frame of the bed. While this discovery confirmed to me the fact I was presently in the Tokyo-3 hospital I failed to understand why such devices were there, they had not placed such things on me the other times I had been injured.
Puzzling over what could have happened to warrant such things I slowly rolled my head to my right side, looking to see if my other arm was bound in a similar fashion, as it would not move when I tried to move it towards my face. The sight that greeted me both shocked and confused me, the sight of Asuka sleeping gently, head cradled upon my arm. Of all the things I had seen in the past months none surprised me more than this. I would admit that Asuka has been acting strangely of late and perhaps at time I have even begun to believe that she might like me only to have my hopes dashed each time when she later lashes out in anger towards me. For her to be lying there like that…so close to me…I think the world must be going to end.
Torn by conflicting desires, to allow her to sleep and marvel at her beauty while she cannot see me doing it and risk her getting mad at me later or wake her up and risk her wrath now but at least she won't be able to accuse me of anything…in light of our last words to one another I decided I would wake her, she had been angry with me then and I saw no reason to give her more to be mad at me about.
"Asuka…"
I called her name softly, hoping that would be enough to wake her. However, rather than rousing she remained asleep, her head nestling closer against my arm as she breathed out a single word.
"Shinji…"
The way she said my name sent shivers down my spine. No one had ever spoken to me in that way before, not even Misato when she was teasing. Asuka's voice had dripped of seduction, hearing it reduced my thoughts to little more than mush. As my survival instincts kicked in, knowing from past experience that Asuka sounding seductive meant bad news for me, caused my arm to jolt slightly, dislodging her and causing her to begin to wake. For a few moments I held my breath, watching as she slowly raised her head, using the back of her hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes. When she first looked up here eyes were out of focus, not so much looking at as looking past, she started to turn away only to stop suddenly, her head flung round to face me, eyes focused sharply on my own.
"Shinji?"
I was shocked by the uncertain tone in her voice, where was the anger I had been expecting? Confused and still somewhat groggy I managed to choke a reply.
"Yes."
What happened next was perhaps one of the strangest moments in my life; Asuka suddenly let out a cry and leapt forwards, catching me in her embrace. Her head fell against my chest, hiding her face from my gaze even as I heard what seemed to be muffled sobs. Nothing I have experienced so far could have prepared me for this…
Without a watch or clock in sight I had no way of telling how much time had passed, all I knew was that it seemed like an eternity had passed when finally Asuka released me and moved back onto her chair. Finally catching a glimpse of her face I noticed her eyes were slightly red and a little puffy and that there seemed to be watermarks running down her face. I realised then that they were tearstains. She had been crying…for me.
I was about to ask her why when suddenly the door slid open and a familiar purple haired major stepped inside.
"Asuka, is Shinji…"
Her words trailed off as she met my gaze, in the blink of an eye she was beside me, pulling me into a tight embrace. Her grip was tight, far more than Asuka's had been and after no more than a moment I found myself fighting for breath. I tried to speak out, to tell her she was crushing me but found myself unable to speak. At last I was saved when Asuka pulled Misato away although I was surprised to see that now anger danced across her face.
"Just what in the hell do you think your doing? How can you act like nothing happened?"
Asuka's words made no sense. Misato had been crushing me, that was true…but, it did not sound as if that was what she was referring to, it seemed that something else had led to this although what it might have been I did not know.
"Asuka…"
Misato started to speak but Asuka cut her off sharply. In truth I have never seen her this angry before, especially with Misato. Something truly terrible must have happened and yet I am still kept in the dark.
"No Misato. You sided with him; you turned your back on Shinji. What gives you the right to ever touch him again?"
Him…that could only mean one person…I could not fathom what chain of events could have led to Misato siding with my father on anything, let alone something that obviously pertained to me. I needed answers; ones I could not obtain while Asuka remained in this state. Summoning all of my courage I tried to talk to her, to get her to calm down.
"Asuka…please stop shouting at Misato. Please calm down and tell me what happened."
At once her gaze shifted from Misato to me, feelings of hurt and betrayal flickering in her eyes. I tried to reach out to her, to explain but she simply stepped away, shaking her head violently.
"How can you take her side? She betrayed you!"
"Asuka…I don't know what Misato did but I don't believe she would do something like that. If we can just talk about this…"
My words only seemed to fuel the fires of her rage, as she grew more agitated.
"There is nothing to say! She left you for dead, abandoned you to the mercy of that man who calls himself your father! I have nothing left to say to her…"
She stormed out, running through the open doorway and disappearing down the hall. More than anything I wanted to follow, to go after her but I found myself unable to go, my left arm was still restrained and my legs seemed to be numb. All I could do was lay there, looking up at the familiar ceiling wondering what it was I had done so wrong…
Misato excused herself a short while later, leaving me alone once again. All the time she had sat there, the same chair that Asuka had been sitting in when I first awoke, her gaze pointed downwards, never once meeting my own. I could not believe that Misato had dome something like that yet, if her actions were to believed it seemed that Asuka was telling the truth, although I could not find it within myself to ask her. In one way her departure was a relief, no longer was I taunted by words I could not find the will to say.
After Misato left I tired to sleep but found myself unable, it seemed that my body had gotten more than enough rest while I was unconscious and for the time being had no desire to return to anything close to that state of being. Without a television or even a book to read, I lay there, looking up at the familiar ceiling, letting my thoughts drift gently. A while later a nurse arrived, when she realised I was awake she seemed surprised and hurried out without word before returning moments later, a doctor at her side.
"Pilot Ikari?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad to see you are finally awake. My name is Dr Igaku, I have been assigned to monitor your recovery."
The doctor's smile helped me feel at ease and managed to find the courage to ask a question of him.
"Dr Igaku…how long was I unconscious?"
The doctor paused for a moment and to me it seemed as if he was fighting an inner battle with himself. A moment passed and when he met my gaze there was a terrible sadness in his eyes.
"Pilot Ikari…Shinji, it is alright if I call you Shinji?"
I nodded in response, finding the informal form of address comforting.
"Shinji, when you were brought in here you were in a coma. This was caused by near asphyxiation, at the time you were pulled from your Eva the oxygen level in your blood had dropped to critical levels…a minute later and you would have suffered permanent brain damage, possibly even death."
He paused for a moment, allowing me to digest what I had been told. It seemed that my rescue had come just in time although I could remember little of it. I asked the doctor about the state of my memory, wondering why everything was blurred.
"That was due to the asphyxiation, due to the low levels of oxygen reaching your brain your short term memory would have been limited greatly and thus what you can recall of it is limited also. Hopefully you will get a clearer picture of those events as time goes on but it is unlikely you will ever have complete recall of them…going back to your original question it has been three days since you were pulled from the entry plug and brought here."
He paused again and once more I noted a brief flicker of anguish in his eyes.
"Shinji…I don't like having to do this but we have to send you home. We received explicit orders that as soon as you awoke, if you were in good physical health, you were to be discharged and returned to the major's residence."
I remained silent as he told me this, both angry and confused at my father giving such an order.
"I don't like discharging you so soon after you have woken up but we have no other choice."
He pulled a small device from his coat pocket and pressed it into the palm of my hand. I looked down at it, confused.
"It's just a precaution. If you press the button it sends an immediate signal to the hospital indicting that you are in need of medical assistance. Our aim is to be with you no more than five minutes after you hit the button, ten if you are outside the city. We haven't been able to give you a full check up so this is in case something happens, ok?"
I nodded my understanding before slipping the cord attached to the device over my head and allowing it to dangle against my chest. Dr Igaku and I spoke a little more, the doctor smiling as he told me about my visitors. It seems that Rei had come to see me briefly in the past three days while Asuka had kept a near constant vigil over me. He also informed me that she had arrived in the ambulance with me, refusing to leave my side…no long after he left me to rest for a while, indicating that a nurse would come by to disconnect the IV and provide me with a change of clothes.
Left alone with my thoughts once again I began to puzzle over Asuka's earlier behaviour and what the doctor had just told me. In truth it had surprised me greatly to hear that Asuka had not only accompanied me to the hospital but also refused to leave my side until she was ordered to. That combined with the fact she had been keeping a vigil over me for these past few days confused me even more. It seemed recently Asuka had been running hot and cold towards me, leaving me unsure how she really felt. She had been angry with me at first after the kiss but then she had gotten nicer only to revert back to her old self after the synch test. Her latest actions indicated that she had warmed up to me again but in light of what happened earlier with Misato I couldn't be sure anymore…
My thoughts were interrupted this time by the arrival of the nurse, it had not occurred to me but I had been lost in my thoughts for quite a long time. She carefully removed the needles from my arm before removing the straps that held it in place. She then indicated a set of fresh clothes she had left on the chair beside my bed for exiting and leaving me alone to get changed. It took me a greater effort than I would have expected to push myself round so that my legs dangled over the side of the bed, my muscles protesting every inch.
When at last I managed to massage some life into my atrophied limbs, I got up from the bed and with some difficulty removed the hospital gown before donning the clothes that had been provided. Dressed in a school uniform I headed out of my room, walking down the corridor and wondering what I should do now.
It wasn't long before I encountered a nurse and she directed me to the front desk. Apparently Misato was waiting there for me; she would be driving me back to the apartment. When I reached the reception area I immediately spotted Misato, sitting on one of the benches. She didn't look up when I arrived nor when I called out to her. I was about to try again when I was intercepted by a series of medical staff, it seemed that there were discharge papers I was required to sign. As I took the pen in one hand I noticed that Misato's signature was already on them, the last part of her name seeming slightly smudged…before I could give it a second thought the papers were whisked away and I was led over to Misato.
She looked up at me yet still as before refusing to meet my gaze. She led me out of the hospital and into the adjoining parking lot, never once saying a word. It was like that the whole of the trip back to the apartment; one that was far slower than usual, as Misato for once did not drive like her usual careless self. When we arrived I noticed Asuka's shoes were missing, before I could ask for an explanation Misato spoke, giving me that answer to my unspoken question.
"Asuka isn't coming home; I think she's gone to stay Hikari's."
That statement, after what I witnessed this morning it had seemed likely, did not surprise me. Once again I felt a need stirring within me, a desire to try and mend the rift that had formed between them…perhaps tomorrow I could talk to Asuka while we were at school. Perhaps Hikari would even help me convince her…before I could confront her though there was something I needed to know...
"Misato…was Asuka telling the truth?"
She was silent for a moment and I wondered what it was she was thinking…then, without warning, Misato closed the gap between us and wrapped her arms around me gently, a far cry from the near bear hug she had used this morning.
"I'm sorry."
Those two words told me everything I needed to know. At once I felt uncomfortable, no longer comfortable with her embrace. She reluctantly pulled away from me after a moment, eyes downcast, refusing to meet my own.
"Shinji…you don't need to cook tonight, I'll order some take out, ok."
I simply nodded my mind not on food at that moment. So many questions remained unanswered yet for now I did not think I could cope with them. I turned to leave, heading in the direction of my room. As I stood at the door to my room I heard Misato call out softly.
"Welcome home Shinji."
I stepped inside, sliding the door closed, cutting myself off from the sounds of her tears.
A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews, I am only happy that other people can enjoy my work.
In response to the people who comment about Rei being evil in the last chapter, in particular to the Rei fans I must apologise but for the purposes of this story she needs to be that way. To clarify I do not in any way hate Rei and have read a number (a large number) of Rei/Shinji pairings and lemons. I see no issue with the pairing it is simply that I find myself more comfortable writing Shinji/Asuka pairings in my work. Perhaps at some point I will come up with an idea for a R/S but as yet I have not done so.
Finally, (Yes, I know. Long authors note.) as it will receive no more updates I cannot say it there thank you everyone who has read One Night Stand. It originated in an idea I had when on the bus to Narita airport when I was coming back from my trip to Japan. Originally envisaged as a two part one shot the third chapter was added at popular demand. I personally view it as one of my best works; one I recommend that anyone who likes this story also read.
I have the start of a new story ready although it would not be updated for a while I would like to ask would people prefer I post it now or wait until there is more?
Ok, enough from me. Thank you all once again. See you next time in chapter 10.
Till next time,
Hououza
Chapter preread by That Other Guy