02:21 – 16th Angel
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.
After we finished showing Nagisa around the Geofront we returned to Misato's apartment on foot, stopping along the way to get some shopping for the evening meal. Asuka of course picked out mostly western spices; silently hinting at the fact she wanted something other than Japanese tonight. Nodding in agreement I started picking out the things I would require, intent on trying something different once again. We made our way to the counter and paid for our purchases before walking the rest of the way home, while I started things off in the kitchen Asuka excused herself to take a shower and get changed. Searching the cupboards, I eventually located the western cookbook I had obtained, I still haven't gotten all the cookbooks back in order since the month I was…away.
I immersed myself totally in the task of cooking, slowly allowing myself to fall into the familiar rhythm of the kitchen, preparing each of the ingredients as I worked through the directions in the book. My thoughts eventually began to wander, drifting back over the events of the past few months and realising perhaps for the first time just how much I've changed. Not long ago I was afraid to tell Asuka how I felt, I just spent my time hiding from everyone, even myself, taking comfort in my SDAT. In the short time since I returned, I've not listened to it once…for some reason I don't seem to need the comfort the familiar melodies bring anymore. I even managed to admit my feelings to Asuka, only to have them returned in kind. It's hard to believe we are lovers now; it seems like only yesterday she was calling me 'baka'.
"Hey! Baka! Get me a towel!"
As much as things change they always seem to stay the same. Sighing, I retrieved a towel before taking it to the bathroom and putting my arm around the door with it draped across it. What I wasn't expecting was when she pulled me inside, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss even as her hands moved to unbutton my shirt. I very nearly gave in to her unspoken demands until I remembered the half prepared dish in the kitchen and conditioning won out.
"Asuka, I have to finish with the dinner, we can do this afterwards."
"Baka! Is dinner more important than I am?"
"Well no, but…"
She cut me off with another passionate kiss, still the fact it was left half done continue to nag at me, meaning I wasn't responding as she liked. With a growl she pushed me outside before ordering me to go back to my damned cooking and shutting the door in my face. I grimaced slightly, well aware of the fact that I would have to make it up to her later. If I hurry up and get this finished and in the oven now then I might be able to catch her before she is done in the shower. Five minutes later I had her pressed up against the tiled wall, crying out my name. As it was I barely managed to rescue our dinner before it was burned to a cinder, we got a little too involved in our activities in the shower. When we sat down to eat, Asuka continued to eye me with a hungry gaze, a promise of more to come.
We ate briefly, returning the plates to the sink to be washed later before retiring to my, no, our room, where I made love to Asuka until the early hours of the morning. Satiated at last she had fallen into a deep slumber even while I remained awake, unable to accept sleep's warm embrace. Once more I found myself no longer alone in my mind, the presence that had been along side me during the time trapped inside Unit-01 was with me once again, its seductive voice whispering in my mind. I took all of my will not to cry out, to scream in frustration as it continued its efforts to erode my mind. I drew strength from the warmth of Asuka's sleeping form beside me, her body like an anchor to me, holding me firming in this reality.
Shinji.
"Go away."
Shinji."I'm not listening."
Shinji."No."
Come to me.
"No."
This time its tone grew louder, more insistent, its tone changing from pleading to demanding.
Come to me.
"No."
Now it grew to a crescendo, words no longer spoken but rather screamed in and earth shattering roar that had my hand moving to my ears instinctually despite the fact it was only inside my head.
COME TO ME.
"NO!"
I screamed back at it, fighting it down, forcing away its fearful presence, no longer willing to accept the world it was offering me. Inside my mind I saw its true form once again, the twisted parody of a human body reaching out to me with it's bloody hands, seeking to pull me into its endless embrace…
"Shinji?"
It shrank back as her voice filtered through into my mind, my cry must have caused her to wake, no doubt the blank look on my face causing her to worry. As if sensing its defeat, the creature slipped away, but not before fixing me once more with those strange green eyes, telling me without need for words that this was not yet over. Then it was gone and I was myself once again, looking out into concerned blue eyes.
"I'm alright Asuka, go back to sleep."
She hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say something more to me before reluctantly obeying and lying down with her head against me. Soon her breathing evened out once again and she was asleep once more. Knowing that it would not try again tonight, I finally found myself able to relax before joining her in a peaceful slumber.
When I woke the next morning my head felt clearer that it had in a while, the alien presence nowhere to be found. My stomach choose that moment to make its presence known. Feeling understandably hungry, I carefully disentangled myself from Asuka's still sleeping form before heading for the bathroom to wash and change, before wandering into the kitchen to make breakfast for us both. Misato still had not returned, she had been absent last night and was still missing this morning; most likely she had spent the night with Kaji and would not return until later in the day, after she finished up business at Nerv. With school no longer operating, and no synch tests scheduled that meant that Asuka and I were pretty much free for the day, able to spend it how we pleased.
A part of me immediately suggested a short breakfast before returning to the bedroom, yet Misato's warning still reverberated clearly in my mind, reminding me to be more careful, neither Asuka nor I were ready for a child. Instead I began to list possible places we could go, all the while going through the familiar motions of preparing breakfast for us both. It was just as I was serving it up that Asuka appeared, dressed in one of my shirts and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She eyed both me and the food hungrily, causing me to blush despite everything we have done, before seating herself opposite me and beginning to wolf down her food. Shaking my head, I sat beside her and started on my own, surprised by my own appetite as I finished slightly before her despite the fact she had started first.
My thoughts began to drift once again, only be brought back down to earth when I felt her warm breath brushing against my ear.
"Shinji…"
She drew out the sound, each rush of air sending a small shiver down my spine.
"W-what is it Asuka?"
I cursed silently the slight stutter in my voice, this was a game of control, and one I was rapidly losing.
"Misato's not here, no school to go to, no test scheduled, we're completely alone…any ideas of what we could do to pass the time?"
Once again my fantasy involving the kitchen table moved to the front of my mind only to be forced down by a reminder of the fact that we eat on that surface…the problem is I need to end this quickly which means beating Asuka at her own game. I quickly put the plates and cutlery away before spinning round and returning her embrace. Before she could speak I cut off her words with a forceful kiss, using my superior weight to back her towards the table. She resisted briefly before giving in, allowing me to take control. This was what she wanted, what she expected of me, for me to be strong to let her be weak, to allow her mask to slip away…when her legs met with the hard wood of the table I stopped immediately, letting her know it would go no further this way.
She flashed me a look of disappointment before pulling away, heading towards her room to get dressed most likely. I settled down to wait, considering the things we might do together other than the obvious, although it could be nothing that took us too far from Tokyo-3. Our orders were to remain within no more than thirty minutes of Nerv at all times, in case the next Angel attacked unexpectedly. My thoughts derailed completely when she emerged wearing that particular sundress, grinning at me wickedly she closed the gap between us, kissing me once, softly, before taking a firm hold of my arm and leading me into the entranceway. Knowing better than to question I simply let her lead me, donning my shoes as she did the same before following her out into the hallway and wherever she planned to take me.
Much to my surprise we ended up on the outskirts of the city, the same place Misato had brought me so many months ago, after I had gotten out of the hospital after my first battle against the Third Angel. It was then that I had seen the city proper for the first time, watched as the buildings rose up out of the ground, their monolithic forms pointing towards the sky. I had seen then what it was I had saved by piloting, the first time I was actually glad that I got inside the entry plug. But, now the city is almost empty, most of people have already fled following the damage incurred during the last few attacks. Craters litter the countryside, formed by the explosive deaths of countless Angels.
Asuka moved to stand in front of me, resting her back against my chest, leeching off my warmth. I slid my arms around her waist, holding her close, enjoying her scent as for a single moment I let everything else drift off, allow the weight to fall from my shoulders as I thought of nothing else…I wish that we could spend forever like this, standing together, watching the world go by. Perhaps, when this is all over, when all the Angels are beaten and I am finally free of piloting an Evangelion, perhaps we can go somewhere together, somewhere far away from Japan, somewhere we can start over again…
"Sounds nice…"
I hadn't realised I was talking out loud, and before I could respond the air was filled with an all too familiar sound, the wails of the Angel alarm, the signal that the sixteenth has finally arrived.
As we arrived at the Geofront, Section-2 had already arrived to welcome us.
"Pilot Ikari, please report to the locker room and then to the Eva cages. Miss Sohryu, please follow us, we will escort you to the command centre."
I nodded in response and turned to walk away when I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to find myself looking deep into Asuka's bright blue eyes.
"Promise me you'll come back, no matter what."
I was caught off guard by her question, the serious look in her eyes. How could I promise something like that? I can hardly count the number of times I've almost died, that I've felt Death's icy touch…yet at the same time I know I can't say that to her, because behind the façade she is afraid. Afraid of losing me…afraid of losing herself…
"Shinji! Promise me!"
"I promise. I will come back, no matter what."
She smiled at me before kissing me again, breaking off and allowing the Section-2 agents to lead her away. As she disappeared from sight I turned my attention instead to the task at hand, the forth-coming battle and my first time back in the plug since the last angel attack and I was locked in a deadlock with the malicious presence within my Eva. I can't afford that happening again, even with Nagisa added to the team, he's untried. I need to get my Eva moving to make sure we take this Angel down, I won't allow them to hurt anyone else I care about. When I arrived in the men's locker room, Nagisa was already there, dressed in his plain grey plug suit I wondered why he had not yet departed for the cages and was more than a little surprised when he spoke out.
"Pilot Ikari."
"What is it Nagisa?"
"You must not fight this Angel."
"What? What the hell are you talking about!"
He paused for a moment, his eyes distant for a moment, as if he were searching for the right words.
"There are those who wish to do you harm, if you go to battle this Angel you will not return."
There was something about the way he said it put me on edge, once more I found myself thinking back to the voice's words and the brief bush of my mind against it's consciousness. Shaking my head to clear away those thoughts I exerted my will, forcing myself to calm down. I won't allow phantoms of the past to control me any longer.
"I made a promise Nagisa, I have to fight, to protect her, I won't allow her to be hurt again."
He shook his head sadly before departing the locker room and heading out towards the cages. Even as the door slid closed I barely caught his final words, as his voice was little more than a whisper.
"I am sorry Ikari, but there is no other way."
Thinking nothing of it, I undressed, before changing into my plug suit and making for the door. When I reached it and it did not open I became frustrated, jabbing he release button but to no avail. Unable to believe it was malfunctioning at a time like this, I moved to open the manual release only to find that too was broken, the handle seemingly melted by some unknown force. Cursing I began to kick at the door, screaming my frustration, that every moment I was trapped here was another moment closer to the Angel winning and everything I had worked so hard for coming to an end…
No! I won't let this happen! I can't! Finding strength I never knew I had, I began to pull the door open. Ignoring the pain in my hands and arms, I pulled it ever further until the opening was wide enough for me to slip through.
I broke into a dead run, making for the cages as fast as I could, only to find both Unit-00 and Unit-02 had already gone. I barely had a moment to curse before Misato's voice boomed over the intercom.
"Shinji? Where the hell have you been! Get into the entry plug right now! The Angel is already contaminating Unit-00, Nagisa is holding it off as best he can right now, but he needs backup."
Nodding in response, and then feeling foolish because it was unlikely she could see my response, I hurried on ahead, getting into the entry plug before the hatch shut and it slid into place for synchronisation to begin. As my mind began to merge to Eva's consciousness I was surprised to find the presence absent from my immediate senses, it seems that this time it has decided to remain dormant and allow me complete control. A moment later the voice of one of the bridge crew came over the radio.
"Synchronisation complete, synch ratio holding steady at seventy six percent. Unit-01 ready for launch."
"Launch!"
As I arrived at the surface, I saw that Unit-02 was being forced back by a barrage of attacks. Grabbing the closest weapon I could lay my hands on, in this case a progressive lance, I lashed out at the tentacles that were even now seeking to envelop Unit-02's head, only to have them shift direction mid flight, enveloping the lance and pulling it away. Angry, I was about to leap for a new weapon when the controls froze, even as the presence thrust itself forwards, cutting off my control and deadlocking my mind. I could do nothing but watch as the possessed Unit-00 advanced towards me, until at last it stood beside me, enfolding me in what between two humans would have been a warm embrace. The last thing I heard was someone shouting something about contamination before everything went blank…
AN: Well that took absolutely ages to write, please address your complaints to my job for successfully removing almost all of my free time and leaving me sufficiently mentally drained I have been fighting with writers block.
I don't know how long it will take for the next one, but I do plan on rounding this one up at some time in the future before moving on to anything else. In A Perfect World and No are going next, I will continue them and I mean soon…so long as your definition soon is a month or so as once again work calls, busy time for me so be patient and hopefully I'll put out a bumper pack as a thank you later.
Thanks,
Hououza
Chapter preread by That Other Guy