Notes: So, here's Chapter 2 of A Season For Atsuko. This is a great accomplishment, because it proves this project isn't dead in the water! I'm really impressed with this chapter: I was actually planning to end it much further along in the story than it ended up ending, but I kept having things write. I'm really curious to see how people are enjoying the story so far! Please leave a review. I hope you enjoy Chapter Two!

Chapter 2: To Seek

Misato removed her sunglasses and surveyed the terminal. Fuyutsuki had told her the girl looked almost exactly like her mother, but Misato didn't even need that knowledge to find Atsuko. She was the only person in the terminal who was not employed by the airport. Misato studied her charge as she approached.

She really did look like her mother, but Misato was able to pick out some of her father in her. The way she sat, with a magazine in her lap but obviously not reading it, looking like the fate of the world rested on her shoulders, reminded Misato exactly of Shinji. Even now, in a rare, unguarded moment, Misato could still catch Shinji looking like he had as a lonely fourteen-year-old. Misato sighed again, remembering her personal vow. She was too old for another Shinji. She strode toward the girl on the bench.

"Hi there," she chirped.

The girl looked up, quickly, shutting her magazine. "Are you my father's subordinate?"

Misato cringed inwardly. "You could say that. I'm Katsuragi Misato. You must be Atsuko. Let's go."

"So," said Atsuko, as they approached the car, "I guess my father must be pretty busy."

"You could say that," Misato said again, causing Atsuko to look at her funny. Misato shut the car's trunk and headed for the driver's side. "Come on, get in. We'll take the scenic route – I want to show you your new school."

Atsuko nodded and got in. Misato started the car and peeled out of the parking lot, causing Atsuko to gasp and Misato to laugh. "Welcome to Tokyo, Atsuko-chan," she said, cheerfully.

"Th-Thank you, Katsuragi-san," said Atsuko, hesitantly, only to be interrupted by, "Please, please, Misato-san, Misato-san. And it's no problem, anyway. I was doing the same thing for your dad when he was your age."

"Really?" Atsuko perked up. "You've known my father that long?"

Misato nodded. "And I've known your mother even longer."

"Misato-san…" Atsuko began. "Can you tell me… what they're like?"

Misato came to stop at a red light and looked at Atsuko. Bright blue eyes looked hopefully up at her; Misato knew Atsuko wanted her to tell her how wonderful her mother had been, how much her father was looking forward to seeing her. Misato knew that the validity of both of those statements was somewhat negotiable. She wondered how much Fuyutsuki had told her. Finally she said, "I miss your mother. I think your father does, too. She was… vibrant. She was a hard worker – the best at what she did. Your father is, too, but he's had a difficult life. He really loved your mother." Misato paused. "And she really loved him. She really did." Then, Misato slowed down as the passed a low-lying cluster of buildings behind a mid-sized wall. "That's your school. You'll start tomorrow, I guess?"

Atsuko nodded. "Yes, I'm really excited." She hesitated. Misato wondered if this was going to be a recurring theme.

"You haven't been to school before, have you?" Misato supplied.

Atsuko shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, I haven't. I'm a little nervous." She returned her gaze to the rapidly moving scenery outside the window. Everywhere they went, there were so many buildings and so many people – more than Atsuko had ever seen before. She was surprised at how amazed these new sights left her.

Misato nodded. "That's understandable. I didn't really have much contact with people my own age when I was a kid, either. My father was a scientist and I traveled with him."

"That sounds interesting. May I ask where?"

Misato paused. "Antarctica."

Atsuko didn't say anything, but her mouth formed a small "o" of surprise. Then, finding nothing else to say, she said, "I'm sorry."

"It's OK," said Misato. "It took me a while, but I've gotten past that by now. I've gotten past it."

Then, she stopped the car. "Well, here we are: home sweet home." Misato pressed a button on the dashboard and drove into what Atsuko thought looked like an ordinary garage.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Misato smirked. "Just wait a second." Just as she had finished speaking, Atsuko gasped. Misato did not even need to look to know that they had just come into view of the geo-front. She chuckled. "You sound just like your father."

Atsuko turned from the window, grinning. "Really?"

Misato nodded.

Ecstatic, Atsuko turned back to the window. Those were words she loved to hear. She couldn't wait to meet him. How long would it take? An hour? A half hour? Would she be able to meet him in under thirty minutes? Atsuko could barely believe she was actually here: at NERV headquarters, where her father worked. She turned back to her companion.

"Misato-san, is this where the buildings come down when an Angel attacks?"

Misato nodded. "But that's not something we have to worry about – there hasn't been an attack in almost twenty years. There have been plenty of buildings built that aren't even attached to the geo-front."

Atsuko nodded, barely listening, too enthralled by the sights of the base. "And my father – does he work here?"

Misato nodded again. "Yes, we're going to see him now."

Misato pulled into her parking space and stopped the car. "Are you ready? We can just leave your stuff in the trunk. We'll take them to your residence, later." She paused. Atsuko had already gotten out of the car.

As they walked across the lot, Atsuko tried to prepare herself for her first meeting with her only living relative. As she had done many times over the past fourteen years, she struggled to put a face to her father's name. Sometimes, if she tried very hard, Atsuko saw a young man's smiling face, though she wasn't sure if it was her father, or a figment of her imagination. She liked to think it was her father, though.

Even though her earliest concrete memory was wading with Fuyutsuki in the stream that ran behind their small house, near the edge of the forest that marked the boundary of Hanazono, if she tried very, very hard Atsuko thought she could remember a man and a woman's voices high above her. She couldn't make out what they were talking about, but she thought the woman spoke frantically and that the man was trying to calm her down. Then, there was a bright flash of light. Atsuko froze.

"Are you all right?" Misato asked. They had reached two sliding glass doors, behind which was what looked like a waiting room, with plush carpeting and a receptionist behind a desk. Atsuko's attention was drawn to the NERV seal on the wall behind her.

As Atsuko took a seat in one of the chairs in the room, in the middle of what felt like a jungle of potted plants, she struggled to grab onto the quickly fading memory-fragments. She had never remembered the light, before. She wondered whether that was part of the real memory, or if that memory was even real at all. Atsuko's thoughts were interrupted by raised voices. She looked up.

She'd been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed Misato going through the large door next to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist smiled at Atsuko apologetically. "You must be Commander Ikari's daughter," she said, trying to make conversation.

Atsuko was about to tell her that she was, when the door flew open and Misato stormed out. Atsuko stood up quickly. "Misato-san, what's wrong?" she asked, but was cut off.

A man had come to the open door. Atsuko stared at him. Suddenly, an image popped into her mind, the image of her memory-father. This was him. "Father?" she asked, tentatively.

"See, Shinji?" Misato shouted, waving her hand in Atsuko's direction. "She doesn't even recognize you! How can you treat her like this? You still haven't learned to separate people in your mind! You haven't matured a bit since the day I met you – in fact, I think you've regressed!" She started for the door, but stopped and turned around again. "You've turned into your father," she said coldly.

"Get. Out," he growled, making to shut the door.

Atsuko could only stare. She felt like she had just been stabbed. She had never heard anyone so angry in her life; this was a thousand times worse than Fuyutsuki when she asked too many questions, or Mrs. Terada when she walked through her flower garden. She had only seen people get this angry on television.

Misato broke the silence. "Why'd you even send for her if you won't even look at her?"

There was a pregnant pause. "I have my reasons." Shinji turned to go back into his office.

"Come on, Atsuko-chan," said Misato, reaching for the girl's arm. "You can stay with me until your father gets over his fear of other people."

The door slammed. Misato jerked her head around to look at it. "This isn't Asuka, Shinji," she shouted, so he would be sure to hear her. "It isn't Rei and it certainly isn't me." She paused. "I bet you don't even know her birthday," she spat, barely audible.

The door opened slightly and Atsuko took a step back, afraid.

"May 24th," said a low voice from within, before the door slammed again, even louder than the first time.

TBC in Chapter 3: To Begin