Disclaimer! Disclaimer! Disclaimer! I don't own anything!
Thanks to everyone who read the previous chapter! As I said before, this chapter was originally the second half of Chapter 6, and was almost finished by the time I submitted that one. But it quickly became obvious that it was going to be way too long to be a single chapter, so I decided "What the heck, I'll cut it in half." Looks like I'll be going for a total of 9 chapters when all is said and done! Thanks for the reviews, by the way! I had a chance to read most of them before I finalized this chapter, and while I haven't made any major modifications, I was glad to have some idea what people thought before sending this one out. Thank you again! Now, on with the chapter!
Humans weren't meant to float
By GeekViking86
Chapter 7 – I won't be like you
Shinji had just finished pouring himself some orange soda into a large plastic cup at the snack table, and being thoughtful he decided to grab some Dr. Pepper for Asuka, since it was one of her favorite drinks. When he went back to the dancing area though, he didn't see her… Since she was the only redhead in their school, possibly even the whole city, she would have been easy to spot.
"Hey, have you seen Asuka Langley anywhere?" Shinji asked a beefy kid, whom he was pretty sure was one of Toji's teammates.
"Oh, I think she went out by the pool." He said with a deep voice.
"Oh, thanks." He responded cheerfully.
He was soon out the back door and walking along the wall-like hedges near the pool, when he heard voices coming from the other side. He knew that one of them belonged to Asuka, but who was the boy she was talking to? It sounded like they were having a somewhat intimate conversation. And although he didn't want to admit it, he was feeling a little jealous at the moment. He decided to proceed cautiously by the hedge and find out what exactly was going on. Asuka likes me, right? She's not going to jump into the arms of some other guy after all this, is she? He had to believe it. He was near the corner of the hedge, and the two subjects of his eavesdropping were right behind it.
Wait a minute, are they talking about sex His mind began to race. Then, he heard Asuka say something in an almost frightened voice.
"Wait, we shouldn't be doing this."
"It's okay if you're scared, Asuka. But there's nothing shameful about this; it's just part of becoming an adult." The male voice said, and Shinji's mind painted a picture of a smug-faced, libido-driven jackass.
"Stop, I don't want--" Asuka sounded like she was almost pleading, and then was cut off. Was this guy forcing himself on her? Shinji decided it was time to look at what was happening, so he peeked his face around the corner, even if he knew what he saw might be something painful. And it was.
Gregory Korusaki, high-school superstar, was kissing Asuka Langley; the girl that Shinji loved, and the person who had given him his first kiss. He wasn't even sure if he was still holding the drinks in his hands anymore, but he honestly didn't care. He felt shattered.
Suddenly, Asuka shoved him away and slapped him in the face!
"No! I am not doing that!" Asuka sneered venomously.
A rush of relief started flowing through Shinji's veins, but it was qucikly replaced by more anger, now that his suspicions about Greg's intentions had been confirmed.
"Asuka, don't you realize how lucky we are to have each other? I thought you wanted to grow up?" Greg tried to keep his cool, but he was obviously getting impatient.
Asuka began to storm away, but Greg grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards him, and Shinji could feel his hand twitching as blood pumped rapidly through his arm. He had finally reached boiling point.
"She said no, you hentai!" he shouted as he stepped into full view. Greg's attention turned to Shinji, and looked a little surprised to find out they were being watched.
"Stay out of this, Ikari." Greg glared at him.
Even though Shinji could not deny jealousy being a factor, it was far outweighed by his anger. This piece of trash was going to make Asuka do something that she didn't want to, and it made him furious. He knew how his type operated… Butter up a young, 'inexperienced' girl with everything that's worked before, and then take their virginity and run. And Toji had told him all about Greg—about how he could never be in the same locker room as him without having to listen to one of his frequent boasts about how many girls he managed to deflower. He was a filthy scoundrel, and he wanted Asuka—Shinji's friend Asuka to be his next tally mark, even if she wasn't willing. Shinji felt like he was going to pop at any moment.
"Look little man, I don't want a fight. Just leave us alone and go back inside." Greg glared at him. Shinji flew at him with his fist clenched, but Greg grabbed him, threw him into the ground, and delivered a hard kick into his side!
"So, you figure that if you beat me up, she won't want me anymore, is that it?" Greg asked rhetorically as Shinji tried to re-collect himself. Greg simply laughed, but then Shinji threw his fists into his chest, and shouted something that shook Asuka to her bones.
"I won't be like you, Gendo!"
Shinji was stronger than Greg had expected, but he decided he'd had enough of this. He grabbed Shinji's shirt and punched him in the face, sending him flying backwards. He landed on the ground with a thud, and he could feel a small stream of blood trickling from his nose. Greg sneered at the beaten heap at his feet with malice, and sent another kick to his ribs, which in addition to the physical pain, was having a bad effect on his pride.
"I don't know what you get out of calling me that, but in all honesty I don't care, because I'm going to shove it all back down that scrawny little throat of yours." Greg growled as he cracked his knuckles. But something happened that he did not anticipate. From behind, Asuka sent a hard kick straight to his crotch that made his knees buckle, then grabbed his shirt collar and sent several hard punches into his stomach, causing his eyes to bulge out of their sockets! She wasn't satisfied yet though, so she used the free hand to grab his belt, and sent him flying into the swimming pool with a hefty throw. She stared down at the pathetic piece of garbage as he struggled to maintain his buoyancy.
"If you ever touch me, or any other girl like that again, then you can kiss 'the family' goodbye!" Asuka growled as she made a crushing gesture with her fist, which cast a look of horror on Greg's face. She helped Shinji up from the ground, and the two went back into the house.
After getting Shinji a tissue to stop his nosebleed, Asuka stormed over to the surge protector of Kensuke's entertainment center—the source of the noise—and pulled the plug. The room was suddenly quiet, and everyone looked over in her direction with confusion on their faces.
"The party is over! Go home, now!" she shouted firmly through the entire room, and then looked at Kensuke. "And Kensuke, next time you have a party, either make it invitation only, or hire a bouncer!"
The guests let out depressed mumbles as they filed out the front door, and Shinji and Asuka soon followed.
As they walked down the street to the train station, Shinji couldn't help but notice that he was feeling incredibly sore in the places where Greg had hit him. He moaned with displeasure as he rubbed the bruises.
"When we get home, you need to take a hot bath and get some rest."
"Yeah, okay."
"And Shinji—I'm sorry about tonight. We shouldn't have been there at all, and I promise that I'll take the heat from Misato when we tell her."
Hearing this made Shinji think worlds more of Asuka than he ever had before. She was showing and unusually high level maturity, and the fact that she was even planning to tell Misato rather than letting her find out by herself showed that she was definitely changing for the better. He only wished it hadn't taken something as stupid as an out-of-control teen party to bring this quality out.
However, Asuka still had a burning question on her mind, which she didn't really want to bring up just yet. Shinji, why did you call Greg 'Gendo'?
Misato sighed happily as she pulled up in the driveway of her lake house, and turned off the engine. Her evening with Shigeru, Maya, and Makoto had been very enjoyable, and she couldn't help but feel a little excited. The night had started with Makoto bringing them to a new exhibit at his favorite art museum, which was a showcase of artwork, weapons, and armor of medieval Japan. Misato wasn't extremely interested at first, but Makoto had made a very good tour guide, and did a good job keeping the experience interesting. He's actually pretty cute when he gets off on a tangent… After they'd all eaten dinner, Misato decided to try something… She asked Makoto if he'd ever been to a techno club, to which he said no. It wasn't long before they were both at one, and Misato was teaching him all of her favorite dance moves. "That was a lot of fun. Let's do this again sometime." She told him before they went their separate ways. Misato had known that there was someone fun underneath Makoto's computer nerd exterior—he just needed someone to bring it out.
Now, she was back in her own house, with her two teenage wards no doubt home from Aida's house by now. After all, it was 11:05. She swung the door open to step inside, and looked down at PenPen.
"Hey little buddy, what's up?" She smiled, but the penguin's face suddenly went ghost white, and he ran to his fridge and locked himself in. Huh, I wonder what's eating him? She shrugged. She entered the living room and saw Shinji and Asuka sitting there. But she was alarmed to see that Shinji's arm and face were bruised, and that he had an icepack on his abdomen!
"What on God's green earth happened to Shinji?" She shrieked. Asuka looked up at Misato with a face that she didn't like… It was a face that said 'what I'm about to say is either going to be a really big lie, or something you don't want to hear.'
"There was a party at Kensuke's, and I didn't tell you. Shinji didn't want to go, but I talked him into it. When we got there some pervert tried to take advantage of me, and Shinji came to defend me; but in the process he got beaten up." Asuka said, trying her best to maintain her composure. Misato's jaw dropped. There was so much going on that she didn't know how to react, but there was one thing in particular that she just had to ask first.
"Why did you do this? Do you know how much it hurts me to know that after putting my trust in the two of you, you would turn around and go to an un-supervised party and let this happen?" She scolded furiously with sadness in her voice.
"I told you, it wasn't Shinji's fault! I made him go, and it's my fault that he got hurt!"
Misato let out a loud groan and rubbed her forehead.
"Shinji, I want you to go outside, sit in my car with the door closed, and listen to your tape player for a few minutes. Me and Asuka need to have a girl talk." Shinji nodded, did as he was told and was soon out of the house. Then, Misato sat down next to Asuka and prepared for the worst of it.
"Okay, now tell me what happened."
Asuka told Misato the whole story—How she was alone thinking about Shinji when Greg started seducing her, the awful "sex advice" he tried to throw at her, how he tried to force himself on her when she backed out… And how Shinji was there to stand up for her, only to be defeated, at which point she took things into her own hands and kicked Greg's ass. She looked absolutely miserable the whole time she spoke, which Misato felt was a good indicator that she was being truthful.
"Now, when Greg talked to you… How did he make you feel? I want you to be completely honest." Misato asked in as comforting a tone as she could.
"I felt… Confused. He told me things that I wanted to hear, but even though he wasn't the person I was hoping to hear them from, I felt drawn in…" Asuka recalled in shame. "I let go of my inhibitions, but by the time I got them back he was feeling me up!" she angrily spat.
"Is that when he tried to--"
"Don't worry, he didn't get that far."
Misato slumped into her seat and rubbed her eyes. It was 11:26, and although she didn't want to keep Shinji waiting, she wasn't done yet.
"It sounds to me like 'Greg' has had a lot of experience. That's why he was so charming and seemed to know just the right things to say—because he's probably done this many times before, but with girls who were more willing or desperate for affection. During my generation, we called people like him 'vampires'." Asuka nodded as a tear started welling up in her eye, but she did her best to remain strong.
"What scares me though, is that before he tried to force me, part of me wanted to go along with it. I have tried to grow up too fast, and Greg played off of the part of me that still thinks that I can by having--" the tear finally escaped and rolled down Asuka's cheek. It was very difficult for her to be this open about something so personal, but she didn't want to keep it bottled up anymore. She had to talk about it. Misato wrapped her arm around her in a comforting manner, and pulled her closer.
"It's okay Asuka, and I'm proud of you for pushing away." Misato said as she squeezed Asuka's shoulder. "When I was younger, I was a lot like you; and I made a lot of mistakes that I never want to see you make. When I was dating Kaji in college, I was a lot more intimate with him than I should have been, and when we broke up I had to accept the fact that I'd always be partially attached to him. Sometimes, I wonder if things would have turned out differently if we had taken things slower, but it's too late for that now."
"Misato, I—didn't know…"
"My mother used to tell me 'They won't buy the cow if they can get the milk for free', but I never believed her until the damage had already been done. Opening yourself up to the wrong person is one of the worst mistakes a girl can make, but you had the resolve not to, and that's what made Greg angry."
"Misato, I promise that I won't do anything so irresponsible ever again. And I'm sorry that I even went to that stupid party in the first place!"
"Just remember this though; I'd rather you have this experience now, and make the right choice—than for you to have it later, and make the wrong one. Tonight you were tested, and you made the right call." And with that, Misato tightened her embrace and gave the top of Asuka's head a motherly kiss.
"I love you Asuka, and I don't want you to get hurt. Tomorrow we can go to the police station and file a report about Greg. This is going to go on his record."
Asuka nodded as Misato's embrace ended.
"Misato, there is one more thing…"
"What?"
"When Shinji was hitting Greg-- he called him by his dad's name by mistake, and shouted that he didn't want to be like him." Asuka said with her head hung low. "Why do you think he'd do that?"
Misato closed her eyes and rubbed them with her hands. God, why did I have to be the one to tell her?
"There were a lot of things about Commander Ikari that Shinji has been ashamed of, and I'm not talking about his leadership decisions…" Misato began, and Asuka raised an eyebrow.
"Was he a--"
"A philanderer. Yes, he was."
It was starting to make sense.
"For how long? Did he start before, or after Shinji lost his mother?"
"I don't know, and I'm not sure how many women he saw. But I know that Ritsuko and her mother were among them."
"Wh-what? He shagged both of them?" Asuka's jaw dropped.
"Yes. And-- he tried to put the moves on me once, too." Misato said with embarrassment. "I told him to back off though."
Asuka was disgusted with what she was hearing. As if her and Shinji didn't have enough reason to hate that bastard to begin with, now she had to know that he'd screwed half of NERV's female employees! It was now no wonder to Asuka why Shinji was reluctant about getting close to her; he was afraid that he might end up using and hurting her, like his father did to the women in his life.
"Poor Shinji… When do you think he found out?"
"I don't know, and I'm not going to speculate. I've probably already said more than I should have, and if you want the rest you're going to have to ask Shinji."
Asuka thought for a moment, and then made up her mind.
"That baka isn't his father, I don't care what he thinks!" She said firmly as got up and went to the door. "I'm going to talk to him."
Shinji had been sitting behind the wheel of Misato's car for about 20 minutes now, listening to his SDAT just like he was told to. The blinds weren't drawn so he could see inside, but he couldn't really figure out what his two female housemates might have been talking about from their body language. He saw them hugging and Misato giving Asuka a kiss on the head, so things probably weren't going too badly. A few minutes later, Asuka had come out of the front door, and Shinji's eyes went straight to the lake to divert suspicion. Asuka had soon walked up to the passenger door and opened it.
"Can I join you?" she asked. Shinji took out his ear buds and shut off the tape player.
"Sure." He said casually. Asuka slid inside and shut the door, and the two simply looked out at the lake and waxing moon for a moment.
"Some hero I turned out to be, huh?" Shinji sarcastically mumbled with a frown.
"What? Is that all you've been thinking about this whole time?" an annoyed Asuka questioned.
"I was over confident, got my butt kicked, and then you ended up having to save me. You didn't need my help; all I did was make you feel sorry for me."
"You think it matters whether or not I could handle it on my own? What matters to me is that you were brave enough to stand up to that douche bag and defend my honor!"
Shinji remained quiet for a moment. It's now or never. Asuka thought.
"What did you mean when you called Greg 'Gendo'?" Shinji was startled by this question, but he had been thinking about the answer for a while. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Asuka asked him. "I know that you were drawing parallels between them. If you want to talk about it, I'll listen."
"I--I've always been afraid that my father somehow lives on through me-- and that someday he's going to take over. Greg kind of reminded me of him, and I guess it all sort of came spilling out-- I wanted to tell my father how much I hated him."
"Shinji, I don't care if the Commander was a womanizer. In fact I don't care about anything he did, because he's not you. Gendo wouldn't lift a finger to help another person unless there was something in it for him, but you aren't anything like that. You're—special." Asuka said as she rested her hand on Shinji's shoulder. "And tonight, you proved it." Then, she leaned over to Shinji's cheek and gave it a soft kiss, and smiled warmly. "You're a hero in my book, and that's your reward." Asuka felt kind of silly saying this, but she was glad that she hadn't backed out. Shinji really needed to hear it.
"Th-thank you." Shinji said with a blush.
"Your father has been dead for two years, Shinji. If you keep filling your heart with hate, then someday that'll be all you can feel. It's time to bury him."
"I want to. It's still hard for me, but I'll try." Shinji agreed with his head hung low.
Asuka gazed out at the lake again, and the small island that was the goal of the swimming lessons she had been giving to Shinji. It looked beautiful, and she was glad that it was Shinji who she was sharing it with.
"The island looks closer tonight than it ever has before, doesn't it?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah, I guess it does."
"One of these days, we're both going to be there, and you're going to be proud of yourself."
"I hope so."
From there, the residents of the Katsuragi household retired to their rooms to get some much-needed sleep. Despite Misato's worries about her children, she slept soundly knowing that they had both taken some very important life lessons away from this experience, even though she was still upset that they had to learn them under the circumstances that they did. They were growing up, and learning to make the right choices was part of that process.
It's definitely high time I laid out some new rules, though. They might be growing up, but I'm still their guardian, and it's my job to make sure that they're safe no matter what.
End ChapterAnother day, another chapter finished. My intention was never to turn this into a rape fic, or a typical "Shinji saves the day" scenario, because I usually hate both of those. I also kind of felt like I was walking a delicate line with Misato's discussion with Asuka, because I wanted it to be effective, but I didn't want to go too far and make it feel preachy, since it is a somewhat sensitive subject.
I felt like this and chapter 6 were necessary though, because I wanted to show Shinji and Asuka's personalities maturing and have some drama involved with it. "Shinji saves Asuka from a perv" has been done plenty already, and I really wanted to put a different spin on it since I felt it was what the story needed. I hope that you enjoyed these two chapters for what they were, because I wasn't originally planning anything this elaborate for chapter 6 (which ended up becoming two chapters).
Next chapter is going to be going back to more of the light-hearted approach I had with the earlier chapters. I estimate that we're down to just two more, and then I'll be calling this fic a wrap, unless I make an epilogue later. I've already got them mostly planned out, so I'll be sure to start writing soon!
Thank you for reading, keep your heads up for Chapter 8, please keep sending your reviews, and God bless!
