Notes: Here's Chapter 3 of Season For Atsuko. Thanks to all those who have reviewed! It's so exciting to open my e-mail box and see a new review waiting there. It's inspiring to know that there are actually people reading and enjoying this story. I hope I don't disappoint. This chapter is quite a bit longer than the others and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Chapter 3: To Begin
The only thing that broke the silence of the waiting room was the sound of someone breathing heavily. It took Atsuko several moments to realize that it was her. She bit her lip to keep from crying and tasted blood.
"I think you had better leave," the receptionist said, getting up from her desk as if that would encourage them more.
"Way ahead of you," Misato muttered, grabbing Atsuko's arm and half-dragging her back through the sliding glass doors. When they were halfway to the car, Misato let go of her arm. "I'm sorry," she said, exasperatedly. "He isn't normally like this… This is a bad day." She ran a hand through her hair, knowing full well that was a lie. Shinji had been increasingly more frustrating as of late. Finally, she said, "Let's go back to my place. I bet you haven't had anything to eat since this morning."
Atsuko hadn't realized how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, but at the moment, she couldn't imagine eating anything. "I'm not really hungry," she said, quietly.
"That's probably for the best," Misato told her. "I don't think I have anything." She shook her head. "Déjà vu. You'd think I'd learn."
"What?" Atsuko asked.
"Nothing," Misato said. "Let's go."
Atsuko nodded and joined her in the car. They were silent the whole trip back to the surface. It was only as she was turning onto the main road that Misato broke the silence. "I hate to ask this, but I was wondering… Was he right?"
"Yeah," Atsuko said. "May 24th."
"I figured as much," Misato muttered. She turned to look at Atsuko sympathetically. "I really am sorry."
"I'm not blaming you," Atsuko said.
"Are you blaming yourself?" Misato asked.
Atsuko froze.
"Because you shouldn't," Misato continued. "This has nothing to do with you. How can it? He doesn't even know you."
Atsuko stared at her.
"Here's how I think it is," Misato began. "Your father has a difficult time associating with other people. I'm sure he wants to get to know you; he's just afraid to make the first move because he's afraid of getting hurt. It's his nature. Does that make sense?"
"I guess so," said Atsuko.
"Great. Well, here we are." Misato stopped the car. Atsuko looked surprised. It had seemed like only seconds ago that… her father had slammed the door on her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, got out of the car, retrieved her bags from the trunk and followed Misato up to her apartment. She knew that it would be difficult to reach out to her father, but she decided that it was probably best to get settled with Misato before trying to see him again.
Once inside, Misato flicked the lights on with a sigh. "It's not much," she said, as if to apologize, "but it's home."
"It's great," Atsuko assured her. "I was just- I was just going to take a bath and then go to bed, if that's all right."
"That's fine," Misato told her, showing her the bathroom and the small spare bedroom, where Atsuko deposited her bags. For a few moments, Misato watched her unpack, as she placed her clothes in the dresser, a few books on the shelves and hung her new school uniform in the closet. Then, Misato headed for the kitchen. She took a beer from the refrigerator, and as soon as she heard the bath start, picked up the telephone and dialed it.
After five rings, a woman's voice answered. "Hello?"
"Ritsuko, it's me."
"Misato, why are you-"
"Let me tell you what happened to me today, Ritsuko." Misato put her feet up on the other kitchen chair and leaned back in her seat. "This afternoon, I was finishing up some paperwork when I get a call from… Rika, I think her name is. Shinji's new secretary."
"Let me guess," Ritsuko interrupted. "It was about Atsuko."
"How did you-" Misatostopped and momentarily put the phone down as she heard the bathroom door open. Atsuko appeared in the doorway.
"Good night, Misato-san. Thanks for everything."
"Sleep well, Atsuko-chan," Misato replied. "You still feel like going to school in the morning?"
Atsuko nodded. "I do."
"Alright then. I'll see you in the morning." Misato waited until Atsuko had shut the bedroom door before returning to the phone.
"Who's there with you?" Ritsuko asked.
"Atsuko-chan," Misato replied, bluntly.
"Why is she there?" Ritsuko asked in surprise. "This morning, Shinji told me that-"
"Wait, wait, Shinji told you?" Misato asked, indignantly. "When his own daughter's been waiting at the airport by herself for two hours, it's his secretary that calls me to go get her, but he can just call you personally to chat?"
"Well," Ritsuko hesitated, "it wasn't exactly to chat, per se. It was more like him asking me to come back again."
Misato rolled her eyes. "What'd you tell him this time?"
"'No'. Just like that. I don't need to get back in that mess. I don't know why you haven't left either. It's not like you do much of anything."
"I don't know, either," Misato said, slowly. "I guess I feel like I have to watch out for him."
"He wouldn't listen to you."
"You may be right. But that's not the issue right now."
"Why did he even send for her?" Ritsuko wondered. "That's what I'd like to know. And why he bothered telling me."
"Maybe he thought it'd get you back to NERV," Misato offered. "What exactly did he tell you?"
"That she was coming and that he wanted me back, as if that had anything to do withit. How did she wind up with you?"
Misato sighed. "How do you think? It was like he didn't want anything to do with her. Same old, same old. It was like it was another person had sent for her."
Ritsuko started to say something, but suddenly stopped. "I have to go. I'll call you later."
"OK," said Misato. "Good night." Ritsuko had already hung up. Stretching, Misato did the same. She had better get to bed. Who knew what the next day would bring?
When Atsuko awoke, she momentarily forgot where she was. But after a moment's reprieve, the events of the previous day came back to her, like a river after the collapse of a dam. The life Atsuko had been leading a mere twenty-four hours ago seemed worlds apart than the one she found waiting for her on the other side of the door. Atsuko pulled the covers around her shoulders and sank into the bed. She wasn't sure she wanted to get up. She wondered what would happen if she didn't, if the world would just continue on unabated without her. She wondered whether Misato would ever come for her if she never got up. Finally, after deciding this would be rude, Atsuko kicked off the covers and got out of bed.
After she had completed her morning preparations and had dressed in her school uniform, Atsuko entered the kitchen and realized she was alone. She then noticed a note on the table.
Atsuko-chan,
Here's some money for grocery shopping. Get what you like! In the refrigerator is a pre-packaged lunch – it's the best I could do for today! Sorry! If you want breakfast, you can get some cereal from the cabinet. I should be back some time around six this evening. Have a good day at school!
Misato
While Atsuko ate breakfast, she counted the money and came up with a brief list of groceries she might like to buy. Mrs. Terada had taken it upon herself to teach Atsuko to cook, but Atsuko only knew how to cook traditional Japanese dishes – she wasn't very familiar with Western food. She wondered which kind her father preferred, but then realized she would probably be better off figuring out which Misato preferred. She sighed. She knew that she shouldn't let her father bother her that much; it wasn't as if she was losing something if she had never had it in the first place. Atsuko stood up and put her bowl in the sink. She was torn between trying to reach out to her father and trying to avoid him. She didn't want a repeat of yesterday. Atsuko took one final moment to arrange her shoulder-length red hair, before pocketing the money, picking up her school bag and heading for the door.
"Well, I'm off," she said to the empty apartment, before shutting the door behind her.
Atsuko walked the last few blocks to school a few steps behind a group of other students from the same school. She wasn't sure if they noticed her or not, and if they did, they gave no indication that they were curious about this girl they had never seen before. It was a slightly cool morning, with only a hint of the heat that was sure to have overtaken the city by midday and the sky was clear with no indication of rain.
Upon arriving at school, Atsuko went straight to the office. The principal greeted her warmly.
"Welcome to our school, Ikari-kun," the woman, who had introduced herself as Mihama, said. She leafed through some papers on her desk. "I understand you were home schooled up until now?"
"Yes, ma'am," Atsuko said. "I was. But my guardian always said I was at the right level for my age group." She was a little nervous about making the transition to public school and was worried that she would be under the level of the second year of junior high.
"And that's what our records seem to indicate. You'll be in Class 2-B. The teacher is Kazama Yoshihiko. Ah, here he is now!" Atsuko turned to see the office door open revealing a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, with light hair and a bright smile.
Upon being introduced, Atsuko greeted her new teacher with a bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kazama-sensei."
He smiled and they shook hands. "We're all looking forward to having you in our class, Ikari-kun. Shall we head over there now? It's about time for class to start."
In Classroom 2-B, Tsukimori Jiro elbowed the boy next to him. "Hey, Aida, did you hear the rumors about the new transfer student?"
The young man in question looked confused. "Are we getting one? I hadn't heard."
Jiro rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you couldn't be more out of the loop if you tried." He smirked. "Here's hoping it's a hot girl." This comment did nothing but earn him a smack upside the head courtesy of Aida's twin sister, who had been listening in to their conversation.
She glared at him. "What have I told you about objectifying women, Tsukimori?"
"Jeez." Jiro backed away. "Does crazy run in your family? All I said was-" He didn't get a chance to finish, as they were interrupted by the door of the classroom abruptly sliding open.
"Good morning, class," Kazama said, as he entered. "You may have heard by now that today, we will welcome a new student to our class – this is Ikari Atsuko, who is transferring here from Wakayama Prefecture. I hope you'll make her feel at home."
Atsuko entered the room, nervously. She had never had the experience of being in front of so many people before. She smiled, weakly. "Good morning," she said quietly.
"Aw, she's nothing special," Jiro muttered, earning him another jab. "Psycho bitch," he muttered, even more quietly. "She can't be hot, but she can't not be, either."
Kazama turned to Atsuko. "Ikari-kun, would you like to say something about yourself?"
"Oh, alright, well…" Atsuko hesitated. "I've lived all my life in a little village in Wakayama, but because my father works in Tokyo, I've come here now." It was all she could think of, not wanting to completely tell a lie, but not wanting to tell the whole truth either.
"Well, we'll try to make your transition to city life as easy as possible," Kazama told her. "If you have any difficulties, I'd be happy to help, as would your classmates." He nodded to indicate a girl in glasses in the front row. "Miyazawa-kun here is the class rep. You may take your seat now…" He scanned the classroom and spotted an empty seat next to the window, on the other side of the Aida sister from Jiro. "How about there, next to Aida-kun?"
As Atsuko sat down, the girl leaned over and whispered, "Call me Asuka-chan. Let's have lunch together."
She had a friendly smile. Atsuko returned it. "OK."
Kazama turned around. "Aida-kun. You can introduce yourself at lunchtime. Right now, you can translate the poem on page sixty-seven."
"I can try," Asuka muttered to herself as she stood. "It's something about flowers, isn't it?" Her brother rolled his eyes.
Morning classes passed quickly and in no time, it was time for lunch break. Atsuko was finding her new environment challenging, knowing full well that she would have to devote a good deal of time to studying if she wanted to do well.
Asuka, on the other hand, from what Atsuko could tell, did not seem to care whether she gave the right answer or not; it seemed like the most important thing to her was to make the teacher and other students laugh. Atsuko supposed Asuka was someone who had many friends.
"God, I thought that Inquisition would never end," Asuka moaned as she shut her math notebook. "Like we're ever going to need this stuff in the real world."
Atsuko shrugged. "I guess that's true. I never thought of it that way."
Asuka shook her head. "Yousure aren't like I'd imagined someone from the Kansai region." She leaned over her shoulder. "Toji! Come on! Let's go outside."
The boy two seats over stood up. "Why do I have to eat lunch with you all the time?"
Asuka leaped up and grabbed him by the arm. "Because it's your duty to your big sister."
He rolled his eyes. "You're only five minutes older than me. It's more like you don't have anyone else."
Asuka stuck out her tongue. "I do so have other friends."
"Like who?"
Asuka paused. "Atsuko-chan!" she said brightly.
Toji shook his head. "Don't mind her," he said to Atsuko, as though his sister wasn't even there.
"No, it's all right," said Atsuko. "I don't have any friends, either." She was surprised at the indication that Asuka had no friends aside from her brother.
"Well, then you've come to the right place!" exclaimed Asuka, enthusiastically throwing an arm around each of the other's shoulders and dragging them to the door of the classroom.
Toji paused. "Can I take that fact that you're not carrying a lunchbox to mean you forgot yours?"
"Shut up."
Five minutes later, the trio was sitting under a cluster of trees in the corner of the schoolyard. Atsuko and Toji sat beside one another while Asuka was stretched out on her stomach in front of them, grazing unabashedly from both of their lunches.
"So, Ikari," Toji asked. "How are you enjoying Tokyo so far?"
"It's very exciting," Atsuko said. "It's not like anything I've ever experienced before."
Asuka filched a sausage from her brother's lunch and popped it into her mouth. "You said your dad worked in Tokyo. What's he do?"
"M-my father?" Atsuko stammered. "He-he works at NERV."
"NERV?" Asuka asked. She and her brother exchanged glances.
"What does he do there?" Toji asked. "Is he a technician?"
"No," said Atsuko, hesitantly. "He's head of operations."
Asuka flicked her eyes toward Toji. He mouthed something to her, and she shook her head.
"Excuse me…" Atsuko started.
"What's your mom's name?" Toji interrupted.
"My mother's dead," Atsuko told him, beginning to get a little annoyed. She paused.
"Atsuko-chan…" Asuka said, before the other girl could say anything. She spoke slowly, but had a wild look in her eyes. "I think I'm named after your mother."
TBC in Chapter 4: To Meet