God bless Us, Every One!
"Hello? Hi, honey. Yes, yes. They had the brilliant idea to close all the labs at noon. I know it's Christmas Eve, but that's still no reason to... What? No, honey, I'm sorry. We can do it right now. I took advantage of the fact that I got a rare free afternoon and picked up Asuka from the daycare. I think I'm gonna take her to an amusement park, she likes it a lot. Yes, I know dear. But I need to spend more time with her, she is growing so fast. Of course, I know what Christmas Eve means in Japan, but we are living in Germany, right? So, let's follow this country's traditions. And after all it's silly to be jealous of your own daughter, isn't it? Ok, ok... I promise I will make it up to you later. Maybe I can wear something special on New Year's Eve? Is that okay? Ok, see you later. I love you too, bye."
Kyoko hung up the phone, sighing.
"Men... they are so needy and clingy... come on Asuka, we have to... Asuka? Asuka? Where are you? ASUKA?"
It was a cold and dark afternoon in Berlin. Climatic changes were a nasty after-effect of the Second Impact, and it has affected the Earth in really unexpected ways. Some countries, like Japan, got stuck in a perpetual summer. But in Europe, the opposite happened, with most of Europe now having a weather akin to 20th century Canada.
Nevertheless, humanity's resilience and hope for better days meant that even in the worst conditions, society managed to reorganize itself. Berlin's downtown, despite the cold weather, was crowded, with many people eager to take advantage of Christmas Eve to do some last-minute shopping or take advantage of the partial day off to have some leisure time.
However, none of this mattered to Kyoko at that moment. The woman's desperation lasted a few seconds - that, to her, seemed like an eternity - looking frantically in all directions until she noticed the small redheaded girl standing in front of a large tree, which was filled with flashing lights and decorated with baubles of several colors and various props, with a star-shaped decoration on top.
"Asuka! Thank God! Don't ever do that again, okay?" - Kyoko said while giving her daughter a hug. However, Asuka kept staring at the luminous tree with awe.
"Why is this tree so different, mama?"
"What? Ah... it's because that's a Christmas tree, princess."
"Christmas tree?"
"Yes, it's a German tradition. We set up beautifully decorated trees to celebrate Christmas. It's a date when people give presents to each other and gather to spend time together with their families and loved ones. Tomorrow we will celebrate Christmas with papa, your grandmother and everyone else."
"You are going to be with me all day mama?"
"Yes, princess. Now let's go to the park, ok?"
"Yay! I want to go to the big roller coaster!"
"MAMA!"
Kyoko awoke startled, not only by her daughter's scream, but by the fact that the child had just jumped on her bed trying awkwardly to hug her neck.
The clock showed the time. Exactly one minute past midnight.
Ignoring her husband's disapproving look and groan, Kyoko calmly took the small child on her lap and stood up, heading towards Asuka's room.
"Hey princess... is everything okay with you?"
The girl nodded in agreement.
"Then why did you come running and jumped on mama's bed in the middle of the night?"
"I came running because I wanted to be the first person to wish you a merry Christmas, mama."
Kyoko suddenly stopped walking, amazed. She could not disguise a big smile that began to form on her lips and looked lovingly at her beautiful child, who had just demonstrated the purest and most sincere proof of love.
But as much as Kyoko loved her daughter, it was in her nature to always try to make a slight teasing.
"Oh... my darling... This is all because you are really in the mood for getting your presents, aren't you? But you can wait until the morning…"
"NO!"
"What? Don't you like presents, darling?"
"I like presents, but I like Christmas better. Because when it is Christmas, I can spend all day with mama!" - she said while hugging Kyoko even tighter, making the woman be once again surprised.
Kyoko hugged her back and gave Asuka a little pat on her head.
"That's ok, princess... Since you liked it so much, I promise you that next year we will have a big Christmas celebration. We're going to buy a really nice Christmas tree and you're going to help me put it up and decorate it, how about that?"
"NO!"
"No? Why?"
"We don't have to do that, mama. We can buy that big tree and bring it over here."
Kyoko smiled. The girl really was her daughter, and even at such a young age she already demonstrated a rational and practical approach to problem solving. But as much as Kyoko was proud of the child's genius and agreed with the reasoning, she had an obligation to make the counterpoint. After all, every parent wants their children to be better than they are.
"No, my love. The Christmas tree represents the hope that even after hard days, better times will come. So, the process of setting up the tree and decorating it in your own way is also important. Also, the tradition says that when two people manage to put up a Christmas tree together, it means that they will be able to overcome any hardship together."
"Is it true mama?"
"Yes, dear."
"Then I'll... want to put up the Christmas tree... together with ma..."
Kyoko smiled as she put the freshly asleep girl back on the bed.
"Hello? Mother? We just finished eating. What about you? You want me to introduce him? Please, of course not. He's not sociable. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Really, wow, I didn't know. That's great. I don't have anything to say, either. Talk to you again later. I'm hanging up, okay? Well, goodnight!"
Asuka hung up the phone. Only to look at Shinji, staring at her with a smile.
"Hey, it was a long conversation."
"Ah… it was just a regular periodic call. She is not my…"
"Oh. So, I guess that she should call again in a few weeks."
"Yeah, probably but… hey, how do you know that?"
"Well... because soon it will be Christmas."
"Eeeh? What... what do you, of all people, know about Christmas, idiot?"
"W-well... I don't know much about it, but I've heard that it's an important date in Germany... In fact, I was thinking of buying a Christmas tree, but this kind of thing it's not usual here in Japan, so I couldn't find it here nearby, but Ayanami said that maybe downtown we will..."
"Bah! Humbug! Christmas and those dumb trees are just silly and stupid traditions and... WHY THE HELL I'm talking about those things with you?
"S-sorry."
"Humph. Getting sympathy from someone like you means it's really the end of the line for me." - Asuka said as she headed for the bathroom under Shinji's sad look and Misato's disappointed look.
"Yes, nothing new here. Poor girl. She is practically a vegetable now. The doctor's said that there is no way that she will ever recover. I heard that her family is only keeping her alive because of the money and... Wait? Somebody is coming to visit her? At this time of the night? Oh... that's awesome. I will use this opportunity to take a break and some fresh air. Touch some grass, you know. Or snow, whatever."
The nurse hung up the phone, quickly getting up and walking towards the exit, leaving the redheaded girl alone. A few moments later, a young man entered the silent room.
"Asuka... I... it's me..."
A "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was his only response.
"Are they treating you well? You seem to be doing well. I mean, I know you are not well, sorry… I guess I'm stupid, but what I mean is, well..." – the boy sighed and took a sit on the chair that was near the hospital bed.
"I'm sorry I haven't been here since that day but... I don't know if you can hear me or if someone came to visit you and tell you what has happened since you were transferred back here.
I don't know if you can hear me or if someone came to visit you and tell you what has happened since you were moved to this room. The war is over, Asuka. We won. Things are slowly backing to normal. Hikari and Kensuke went back. Toji is still struggling, but I think he will be fine. Also, Rei and I are living together now."
A longer and louder "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was heard, causing the boy to be startled, but he soon saw that it was just normal machine procedure.
"No, no, not like this. After the battle, Misato, Ritsuko and... my father... they didn't survive. Subcommander Fuyutsuki was in charge of my guard and he explained to me that Rei... is my sister. Or something like that. She is a clone created from my mother's DNA, and used by my father as a weapon of war."
"Heh... I think that this is our longest conversation so far, isn't it Asuka? I'm sorry... I would like to have talked with you more in the past. But maybe once you wake up, we will be able to. I-if you want to, of course."
Another "beep" came out from the electrocardiogram machine.
"The sub-commander told me that there are still powerful people in the world who want to revive the Angels, and so I will need to remain an Eva pilot. I... made a deal with them. As long as NERV guaranteed that Rei would no longer need to pilot and that you would continue to get the best possible medical treatment here in Germany…. I will do it." – the boy said, clenching his fists.
"I don't like it, but so far there haven't been any major issues. The biggest downside is that I don't have any more days off or vacations and I am not allowed to leave Tokyo-3, but apparently NERV is obliged to release all of its workers from work on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, so I managed to come here. But I won't be able to stay here all night. The day after Christmas I already have to report for work and it's a long flight, so I have just a few more minutes here. Ah, I was already forgetting."
The boy opened his backpack and took from it a small plastic Christmas tree, decorated with red and purple baubles. He looked around the room for a while, until he decided to put the tree in a discrete place, above a piece of furniture, near the door.
"I… I bought this Christmas tree at the airport. I know it's small and simple, but I think it's practical and you would prefer it that way, wouldn't you? I'm not sure how this tradition works, but I'll make a request and see if it gets granted."
The boy closed his eyes and sat down on the chair, remaining motionless for a few minutes as if he were saying some kind of a prayer.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Shinji looked at the clock on the wall of the room that showed the time. One minute past midnight.
"Asuka I... I have to go back now. I hope you recover soon. I...I don't know if I'll be able to do this alone. I... need you. I will not abandon you. Not again. Not ever."
Shinji walked slowly towards the door, looking one last time at the girl.
"Merry Christmas, Asuka."
"Hey Asuka, how are you?"
A quiet "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was his only answer again.
"Yeah, it's me again. Bet you didn't think I was coming back, did you? Things have been very complicated and Nerv didn't react well to the news that the only pilot that Unit 01 accepts is traveling to Germany. But I warned them that this condition is non-negotiable. So even if I have to come here in secret and with Section 2 agents following me, I promise you that I will keep coming every Christmas, ok?"
"Hey Asuka, it's me again. Your hair is really long, I think I'll ask the nurse to cut it a bit."
A rather weird "beep" came out from the electrocardiogram machine.
"N-not that you don't look good with it but... oh, it's just the dumb machine again…"
"Hey Asuka. Got some good news. Rei has graduated and entered college. She wants to be a doctor. And she has also started dating. And during her free time, she takes care of the watermelon fields that Kaji left. She is happy and that makes me happy. At least one of the three of us was able to have a normal life after everything, right? Maybe if you wake up you will be able to do it too. I hope so."
"Good night, Asuka! It's nice to see you. Man, the winter here in Germany is really harsh, isn't it? But the lights and the Christmas trees outside are really beautiful, I wish that you could see that."
A quiet "beep."
"Yeah... I'm in a different mood this time... I am… happy I guess."
The familiar "beep." Again.
"Well... it's just that... well, I think you'll be glad to know... so... Rei introduced me to a girl you know? She's... very pretty, funny and seems to like me a lot. Her name is Ma..."
A longer and louder "beep" came from the electrocardiogram machine, making the young man interrupt his speech.
"Erh… you know what? Let's talk about other things…"
"Hey Asuka. No, things didn't work out with her. She told me that my heart was still set on you. I told her it's… not like that but… I get that she was annoyed with the fact that I decided to spent the Christmas Eve with you instead of… you know how this tradition goes in Japan, right? So yes… w-well, anyways, I like the German tradition about Christmas better. Let's hope that this year a Christmas miracle will happen right?"
"Asuka…. Rei is angry with me. She wanted to schedule her wedding for this Christmas Eve so I could attend to it without having to worry about my obligations with Nerv, but I told her that I had made a promise to you, so I came here. Let's hope she won't be angry with me for long. Damn... she's the only person who really cares about me in this world and I've let her down again..."
"Hey Asuka, so... Rei is pregnant. She's going to have twins. I'm still getting used to the idea, I'm afraid I don't know what I will do to be a good uncle to those kids. I think the best I can do is to keep my distance. The bad-ass Eva pilot uncle is so much better then boring and dumb old Shinji after all. Oh, and I… met a girl, you know? She is pretty, easy-going, flirty and apparently understands how things work at Nerv. Who knows, maybe this time it will work out, right? Her name is Ma..."
"Before you ask, no, it didn't work out. And no, no new love affairs. I'm really pathetic, am not? Well, let's talk about other things. Rei's twins are so beautiful. I haven't been able to see them in person, but I think it's better that way. I bought them some great presents. That's what children like the most about Christmas right?"
"Hey. No, still no news from my love life, thank you for asking! Not that you've been having more success, you know?"
A familiar "beep".
"Ok, sorry. That was… stupid. I've been thinking about it, Asuka... the problem is not with me. They don't understand how it is. I'm a soldier and… no, that is bullshit. They tried to understand and, even if they don't, this is not an excuse. The problem with them is that ... they are not you."
"God, I'm really pathetic, am not? I just knew you for a few months and we were not even friends at all but… I tried to delude myself. I know that if you were in my place you'd probably have moved on already, but... Rei is right, what the hell am I doing? I… I think... that I'm using you! Like I did that time… Oh Asuka I'm… I'm sorry. I'm selfish. I…. you don't deserve that. You deserve better. I… probably won't come back…. Sorry. I'm really sorry."
"Hey Asuka. I... I'm here again. Why do I keep coming here if everyone has already asked me to stop? I don't know... I guess it's because you never asked me to stop. I'm really a moron, aren't I? Or is it asshole? What did you used to call me? I… don't even remember anymore. But… I won't run away. I made a promise. I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you. No matter if you will hate me for it. I just want you…. to be happy."
"Just... do something... stupid Asuka..."
"Go to hell! Yeah, I know that Nerv's credentials aren't valid anymore but (cough) I'm the one paying for this treatment. So, I will fucking enter this room and be there for as long as I can, understand? Yeah, yeah... you may call (cough) security or whatever. See if I care."
A pale, sad-looking man entered the room, locking the door and leaving the nurse outside.
The nurse continued knocking on the door, being ignored by the man who again made his way to the chair that was near the bed where the redheaded woman was lying.
"S-sorry about that, Asuka..."
The familiar annoying "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was his only response.
"So... it's been 14 years. You still haven't woken up. Everyone says you'll never wake up. And what if you do? Will you remember me? Our conversations? Or will you think I'm just a madman? A perverted, useless man (cough) who's foolishly hoping that his first crush will wake up and magically jump into his arms?"
Another "beep" was all that he got. The man brought his hands to his head, visibly disappointed.
"Asuka..." - the man looked with a deep, sad look at the inert body of the woman lying on the bed. - "Fuyutsuki is dead. There was never any real threat. He lied to me (cough)... He used me. All he was trying to do (cough). all this time were experiments to try to extract something from Unit 1. Nerv is going to be extinct and (cough)... everything I did all these years was apparently for nothing. But don't worry (cough)...even if your family is no longer getting the money I (cough)...will make sure you continue to be well taken care of."
A longer and louder "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was heard. Just normal machine procedure.
"I can't stay here for long (cough) I (cough) I'm sick too. Apparently, it has something to do with excess LCL in my lungs. But (cough) is okay. If I (cough) get worse I can ask to stay here in the next room. Just like (cough) the old times, right?"
A small "beep" again.
"But it won't be this time (cough) that I will be able to move in. Rei insists on taking care of me. She says I have to stay close to her (cough) and my nephews. He, I have never liked children, but I must admit that she is an excellent mother. Do you think that (cough) my mother would have been like that too Asuka? I really wish (cough) I had celebrated Christmas with my mother. I wonder if you..."
A loud noise coming from the door startled the man. Soon the noise was followed by an even louder one.
The man looked again at the red-haired woman as he tried to get up and looked at the clock on the wall. One minute past midnight.
"Merry Christmas, Asuka. I (cough), I just want you (cough) to know that..."
Shinji was unable to stand and collapsed to the floor, passed out. At the same moment, hospital security was breaking down the door of the room, knocking a 14-year-old Christmas tree to the floor. It was ruined.
The room's door opened. A beautiful young doctor with long blue hair entered the room, with a stoic expression, showing no emotion whatsoever.
"Sohryu."
A quiet "beep" came out of the machine, as she took a sit on a chair next to the bed.
"Even though you are not listening, I will talk to you either way. That's what my brother asked me to do and I will honor his request."
Another "beep".
"I'm here to inform you that Shinji won't be coming here to spend Christmas Day with you anymore."
A longer and louder "beep" from the electrocardiogram machine was heard.
"No, it's not because he has given up on you. It's because he is gone. Dead."
A moment of silence. After some instants, the familiar "beeps" resumed.
"My brother had a tough life. Evangelion was a curse to him and only brought him pain. But, as you would say, he is…was an idiot. He said that he didn't regret the fact that he lived most of his life as an Evangelion pilot because it also allowed him to meet and protect the persons he loved. I like to think that he was talking about me and my children and, in a way, I do believe that he loved us. However, I knew that he wasn't talking about us."
She looked at the clock. One minute past midnight.
"Well, that's all I had to tell you. I won't be coming back here anymore. I'll just continue to honor the promise my brother made to you, and I'll spend a lot of money for nothing, only to keep these life-support devices on."
The woman gets up and walks toward the door.
"I would wish you a Merry Christmas. But we both know that this is all just a lot of nonsense, isn't it?"
Asuka was sitting, hugging her own legs, completely naked in the middle of a playground, with a ruined Christmas tree on the floor.
A young girl, carrying a stuffed monkey appeared before her.
"Are you lonely?"- said the child, trying to touch Asuka's head, only to be interrupted by a harsh reaction.
"No! Don't come near me! I can live alone (do you like me?)! I don't need anyone! (Do you really like me?) I can live alone!"
The girl's face turned into a doll's face as she spoke only one word. - "Liar".
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"I'm glad that you are ok, Asuka."
She turned her head and looked at the boy, who was standing just outside of the quarantine zone, still in his plugsuit, even though he did nothing at the battle that had ended a few hours ago. The idiot must have waited all that time until he was allowed to see her.
"Hey, Shinji."
"Y-yes, Asuka?"
"Heh" - growled Asuka, in her accustomed voice, as near as she could feign it. - "Look, you idiot. I am not going to stand this sort of thing any longer. So, you" - she continued, getting up and walking towards the boy who was looking at her, visibly scared, but with a slight smile on his face and keeping his position near the yellow and black stripes - " will need take me downtown as soon as I'm allowed to get away from this dumb quarantine! I won't take a no for an answer!"
"O-ok... sure... we will do that Asuka" – the boy answered with a bigger smile, visibly relieved – "but… why do we need to go downtown for?"
"Because we are going to put up a nice Christmas Tree."
Author notes: Well, there it is. "Asushin at the Movies" Christmas Special was delayed, but for a good reason. Thanks for the amazing people of Asushin Discord Server that organized this winter contest that provided us with lot's of great new Asushin fics. It was really a nice way to celebrate this rough, but very nice year for Evangelion and Asushin fandom that keeps growing and building new works, both from the old dinosaurs of the fandom and to the newer generations that are already providing talented writers and artists.
There are a bunch of great Asushin winter fics coming and they are good.
About this one, I'm sorry to the people that got "depressed" because of this fan fiction and those who were disappointed because they really wanted a sad/anguish fic after all and/or wanted more development. I know that it was a weird ride and with lot's of ambiguity in the "old Evangelion" way, so, in I am really satisfied with the result. But I'm not Anno, so let's drop some author notes about this story.
Like all of the other chapters in "Asushin at the Movies", this short story was based on a classic Christmas tale turned into movie version (several times). The hints to identify the reference are, as always, in the title of this fanfic and also on the text - notably the iconic "Bah! Humburg" line and the overall plot about the past, present and future Christmas.
Just like in the original story we could see why present Asuka hates the Christmas, a date that - at least in this fic - she used to love, and how meeting with a mysterious entity allowed her to remember her past and present Christmas and, also, the future that will happen if she doesn't change. A future where not only her, but also Shinji, would suffer. And all that linked to the Arael episode.
I also added to the story a little bit of lore about Christmas trees to help to develop the Aesop of this tale. Cute young kid Asuka had understood well some of the most important aspects of the Christmas: that is a day to share love and be close to the people that are important to you. Kyoko also tried to teach the young and brilliant Asuka a valuable lesson: that rationality doesn't always gives the right answer, and, sometimes, the process/journey is as important as the end result.
Therefore, the point of putting up a Christmas Tree is not to have a beautiful tree at home, but to build something together with important people and create a bond. Therefore, even if it's more pratical and rational to just buy a Christmas tree, the process of putting it up itself is part of the fun and the point to have a Christmas tree at all. Just like the fact that the presents aren't the most important thing about Christmas: it is way better and more important to have one/two days off to spend quality time with your loved ones.
Sadly, Kyoko's accident happened and since that day Asuka started to hate Christmas. Meanwhile Shinji, was genuinely interested about that odd Western tradition, highlighted by the fact that - in canon Episode 22 of NGE - he mentioned to Asuka about how nice it would be to have a family.
After that, the sequence about the possible future Christmas for Asuka was meant to show Shinji's character (un)development, in a scenario where he had to live in an "Asukaless" world and also spending his life as a Nerv soldier/guinea pig - in kind of a mix of the Asuka from EoE Live Action and Shikinami's drama in RoE.
Her absence also meant that Shinji had nobody to explain to him the important lessons about the meaning of Christmas, like Kyoko did to Asuka and kid Asuka discovered by herself.
So, even with his good intentions, Shinji started to also have misconceptions about Christmas - like praying to get a miracle - and also tried to got a "rational" and "pragmatic" approach towards Christmas - buying a cheap Christmas tree, being distant from his family and thinking that "kids only likes presents anyway"... Eventually, he became as grumpy and skeptic about Christmas traditions as the present day Asuka.
Therefore, at the end, Asuka saw that she needed to change in her actions to try to save both herself and Shinji from that sad fate. She decide to swallow her pride and finally understood her mother's lesson, convincing Shinji to put up a Christmas tree together with her. That way, even if Asuka hadn't been able to put up a tree with her mother and spend all Christmas with her, she could have a chance to do it with another special person.
However, this small deviance will be enough to change future? That's up for the readers to decide if they would believe in the "Christmas magic" or not. This story was made to be ambiguous and up to interpretation in EoE style. But for me, is a hopeful Christmas tale, in the old fashioned "EoE" style of hope.
Other curious things worth of mentioning about this fic.
1) There was a reference to the old and classic "Feliz Jueves" meme in the text and also to Anno's line about "touching grass".
2) Christmas Eve in Japanese tradition is the equivalent of Valentine's Day for them, with also add more significance to the meaning of Kyoko's and Shinji's actions.
3) Shinji waited for 14 years for Asuka to wake up, in a callback/homage to Eva Extra manga. He even used some of Shikinami lines, like "do something, idiot". Therefore, there are 14 "Shinji visits comatose Asuka in the hospital" scenes, but, at least, nothing like the "original visit" on EOE, lol. Nevertheless, they were kinda sad and dramatic (sometimes funny) because those scenes were meant to show Shinji's progressive downfall into depression in an Asukaless world. So, that downfall was an attempt to do a tuned down "Shikinami-like drama version of Shinji", with him gradually losing hope and will to live, but still being true to himself until the end, for better and for worse.
4) The "beepsuka" was a funny way to keep the reader (and Shinji) in doubt about if Asuka were really listening to him or if that was just wishful thinking of Shinji and/or the reader that she was, somehow, aware of what was happening. Also, it was another to mirror the drama of the original movie, where the main character was watching the events of future Christmas and trying to intervene somehow, but being unable to do it.
5) Long haired Rei, married, with babies, being a doctor, touching grass (literally) and having a good life is for sure a future outcome that will not change ^^.
So, once again, thanks for reading this one. I already said pretty much everything I needed and wanted to say about Evangelion and Asushin with "I don't want to forget" but, in that process I discovered that it really doesn't matter. Writing is fun, and writing Evangelion and Asushin fics is a thing that I will always enjoy doing. Gotta take a vacation and come back renewed, with new stories to tell next year.
And to all of the readers and Asushin fans of the past, present and future, I wish you all a lifetime of Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.
God Bless Us, Everyone.