"Thank you, Hikari… Yes, yes I plan to try to make it to class tomorrow… OK, see you then… Goodbye."
Asuka hung up the phone and looked around the darkened room. Everyone else was asleep by the time she and Hikari had finished catching up. But now, she was alone. Alone with her thoughts and memories. To say she didn't like that would be an understatement. But, he did promise last night… So, maybe…
"What the hell am I thinking?" Asuka asked under her breath. There was no way she was going to start using that hentai as a crutch. She could stand on her own through all of this, after all. "I don't need his protection. I don't need ANYONE'S protection." She spat.
Yet, there was no denying it had been nice. Even if for a little while, it was almost like she had been able to let the Walls of Jericho come crashing down, only to find herself staring at the backs of the invading army.
"No… No! I'm not that weak." Slowly, quietly, she began walking down the hallway to her room, her eyes focused intently on the floor. "I've done everything so far on my own," she whispers to herself. "I can get through this alone as well. Even though…"
Asuka reached for the handle to slide open the door. "It would have been nice, just this once. Just to be held once more." The sound of a door sign slapping gently against the door made her stop. Looking up, in the dark hallway, she could just make out the words 'Shinji's Lovely Suite'.
Chapter 5
Lectures, Conspiracies, and Meetings - Part I
The next day, Shinji was sitting in class, listening to the teacher blabbering on and on about the Second Impact once more. His mind, however, was focused on last night. Surely, it had to have been a dream, right?
He remembered waking up in the middle of the night to find Asuka, snoring softly, beside him in his futon. I mean, sure. She'd done that the night before. But, she'd be a complete wreck that night. It had almost made sense for her to be there, in some crazed fashion. But last night… She hadn't just discovered she was a hair over six-weeks pregnant. She hadn't had to deal with Misato's unfair assumptions and tirades. Sure, there was the incident with Dr. Akagi. But, between Misato and the Sub-Commander coming to her aid, as well as the conversation with Hikari, that should have been swept under the rug. So why?
Didn't really matter, of course. By the time he had truly woken up, she was back to sleeping in her own room. She never mentioned anything about slipping into his room at breakfast or on the walk to school, which had been enough to convince Shinji it really was all just a dream.
But, it certainly was a rather pleasant dream…
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
"DUMMKOPF! You ruined it!" Asuka fumed, holding a diced up piece of breaded pork and rice between her chopsticks. "How could you let it chill like this?! Schnitzel is only good when it's fresh or properly reheated. This is just rubbery garbage!"
"I'm sorry, Asuka. But, you never ate an-"
"And that's my fault how? You cooked this the night before last! The least you could have done was properly reheat it last night for dinner, couldn't you? Or just trashed it like the schiesse it is!"
"ASUKA!" Hikari snapped, before almost instantly regretting it. It had been a reflex, trying to defend Shinji from some of the more ridiculous of her red headed friend's outbursts. But, this wasn't one of them. The tears starting to well up in Asuka's eyes certainly attested to that fact. "Asuka, listen. It was a mistake. How often has Shinji cooked German dinners?" She watched as Asuka shook her head, agreeing about just how rare such an event was. "See? He probably didn't know and just wanted to surprise you. Isn't that right, Shinji?"
Suddenly drawn back into the conversation, Shinji tried his best to cover up his mild discomfort about the whole affair. "Y… Yes, that's right, Hikari. And I'm sorry, Asuka. I just thought that it would make a decent substitute for the regular pork in your bento. I never meant to upset you like that. I promise." Shinji blushed when he finished speaking. Where had all of that come from? He was just planning to give his usual apology and let it go, not explain himself.
"Aww… Look, the newlyweds are about to kiss…. and… ma…" Toji's teasing words slowly died off, the glare coming from Hikari being powerful enough to melt through all of twenty two layers of special armor plating that protected NERV-HQ before she could even blink.
"Wow, did the Class Rep and the Red De-" Kensuki quickly found himself under the same glare. "Yep! Shutting up."
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
Lunch period, as well as the rest of the afternoon, passed by remarkably without incident. Hardly a word was said between the five friends, apart from Asuka's barely audible words of thanks to Hikari for silencing the jock and otaku. As the final bell rang, Hikari stood to call out cleaning assignments. "Alright everyone. Cleaning duty goes to Suzahara and Sor-"
She stopped herself, looking at the schedule before her. There was no way Asuka should be cleaning, she thought. There had to be a way. Well, they were pilots after all. So maybe…
"Hoju-san!"
"What do you want, Class Rep?" the broad shouldered bully-of-a-student asked.
"You and Toji have cleaning duty this afternoon. Everyone else, you are dismissed."
"Now wait just a minute, Class Rep. You can't just go and change around the schedule like that for your friends. It's Asuka's turn and you know it," Hoju ranted. "Or are you just afraid she'll try and steal your-"
"HOJU-SAN! You have cleaning duty this evening. Soryu-san has important business with NERV to attend to."
"Hey now, you can't just try to claim-"
"Just drop it, dude." Toji stood behind the most decorated wrestler in the school's history. Although slightly shorter and thinner than Hoju, Toji's place as former captain of the school basketball team, plus a marginal sympathy vote given his prosthetics, gave him the edge when it came to the social weight they were able to throw around. "Let's get this place cleaned up so we can get out of here."
Hoju only nodded and watched as Asuka hurried out of the room with Shinji in tow.
=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=
The Commander's office was, as usual, dimly lit as the only source of illumination was either the occult seal upon the floor or the sanguine light coming from the windows behind the desk. Within, Shinji, Asuka, and Misato stood at attention before the Commander Ikari and Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. To call the dressing down they were receiving a minor conversation would be like calling a blue whale a small mammal.
"While I do not condone her actions yesterday in any way," Fuyutsuki was saying, "the simple fact remains that we are now down a pilot. Dr. Akagi's assumption, while improperly acted upon and in violation of the chain of command, is entirely correct. The mental interference that the unborn child will likely cause will prevent her from being able to pilot her Evangelion. We have no choice but to remove her from the active roster."
"No…" Shinji thought to himself as he watched his father shifting forward.
"I have no use for a child that cannot pilot her Evangelion," Gendo said has he laced his fingers together before his nose.
"Miss Soryu needs someone. Now more than ever…" Kaworu's once again hung in Shinji's head. But how? How could he help her? It's not like he had something to hold over his father as some kind of bargaining chip…
"You can go home now, ex-Pilot Soryu."
A gasp of sorrowful pain escaped Asuka's lips just as a suddenly flash of memory hit Shinji…
"You're the only candidate we have"
"But why me? It doesn't make sense?!"
"If you don't do as I say, humanity will perish…"
"No! No matter what you say, I won't do it"
"I see. Alright then, I have no further need of you. Go home, coward."
It couldn't be that simple, could it? That time, he'd just brought up Rei, bandaged and bleeding, to be thrown into the Eva in his place… But, what if… Could his father just have been manipulating him yet again? Was bringing her up nothing but a bluff to get him into the Eva? He had the dummy plug system, at least what was left after Dr. Akagi destroyed the remainder of Rei's clones. But, he hadn't used it since that time. What if he couldn't? What if he really WAS the only option to pilot Unit 01?
"No…" Shinji said softly.
"What was that, Pilot Ikari?" Gendo intoned.
"No. Asu… Pilot Soryu remains here," Shinji's voice wavered as he spoke. "She stays here on emergency reserve status."
Fuyutsuki arched an eyebrow and was about to interject, but Gendo raised a hand to silence him. "What makes you think you are able dictate such terms, Pilot Ikari?"
Mild conviction started to settle into Shinji. This was all a gamble, a very large gamble really. But, the rewards might just be worth it. At the very least, he might be able to keep his roommates… no… his family… together. "She stays, or I will no longer pilot Unit 01!"
Both Misato and Asuka let out a gasp. "Pilot Ikari, I suggest you reconsider your words. With your history of insubordination, as well as repeated attempts at desertion during periods of active hostilities, such an action would be nothing short of treason."
"He's not outright dismissing me?!" Shinji did not have his father's advantage of being in a seating position to cover his mouth, nor did he have the years of training to perfect a poker face. As such, the faintest of smirks crossed his lips for a fraction of a second. "I was right! I AM the only option."
"Shinji, are you certain of this?" Kozo asked.
His smirk returned as Shinji face his father. "She stays, or I will no longer pilot Unit 01. There is no other option."
"I see. Pilot Soryu, Major Katsuragi, you are both dismissed." Gendo stated coldly, before pressing the comm button on his desk. "Ms. Toranaga, please have Section 2 come to confine Pilot Ikari on the charge of treason."
A/N: Alrighty everyone, like I promised last week, Dein Vater has not been abandoned! We're back once again with a new chapter. How was that for an ending, eh? Worth waiting for, I hope.
First, I would like to make a slight comment in regards to my statement about my posting schedule. I know I had said it would be an every other Saturday thing for each story, and that is basically how it is going to be played out. Well, sort of. To be more specific, the first and third Saturdays of the month will be the release date for a new chapter of Third Time's the Charm while the second and fourth Saturdays of the month will be the release date for a new chapter of Dein Vater. This leaves, on average, about four months out of the year that are not accounted for because they actually have five Saturdays. These extra days, the first of which is the end of next month, are going to be set aside for posting random one-shot stories or just a general day off. So don't be surprised when May 30th comes around and there's no update for DV or TTtC.
With that minor bit of housekeeping out of the way, please review and tell me what you think. I really appreciate the comments, even if it's just simply to say "Your German spelling of the title was off." By the way, thank you for pointing that out for me, Anon E. Moose. Also, nice name. I only just caught that.
As far as brining in Hoju, he played a great role as a minor antagonist in the original story. Even though I know there was some dissent about the idea of bringing in OCs, I figure he's worthy of having at least a bit part in this remake… as long as I give him a bit more of a reason to actually hate Asuka enough to push him to start spreading rumors.
Also, now that we are through with that Adam-awful meeting between Gendo and the pilots… You know, I was really hung up on how to best go about writing that little plot point. Without Shinji's massive character modification, to the point that he was actually the one who called the meeting, it just felt like it would end on a sour note. Hopefully, I managed to make it work and still keep true to the evolving nature of the characters. Anyways, with that out of the way, I think we're about to see a bit of forward momentum with the story and break out of this "two chapters a day slice of life" mode we are currently in. Chapter 6 is still in that mode though, but you can bet it will at least tie up some of the loose ends that this cliffhanger created. Afterwards, however, I'm not sure if we'll be moving on to "tomorrow" (although I don't list the dates in the story, it is somewhat chronological and I do know actual story dates) or skip ahead a few days. In the end, I guess we'll find out in a month when Chapter 7 comes out. In the meantime, to thank (and once again apologize to) my readers, I'm going to leave you with a small omake that managed to jump into my head and just need to be typed out. Enjoy the earworm!
JaceSterne
OMAKE:
Chibi-Kensuke, clad in a JSSDF summer camo BDU complete with camouflaged face paint and helmet, poked his head out from behind one of the trees outside Tokyo-3 First Municipal Middle School. He pulls out a pair of high-powered binoculars, scanning the nearby grounds. Class has just been let out after a particularly long day, so the sun was just starting to set. Finally, he spots his quarry, holding hands as though getting ready to walk home together. He lets out a soft sigh. "I can see what's happening."
Chibi-Toji quickly hops out from a nearby ball pen, basketballs flying out in all directions and bouncing away from the sudden burst of energy. "What?!"
Chibi-Kensuke shakes his head in sorrow and disgust. "And they don't have a clue!"
Chibi-Toji, looking horribly confused, asks, "Who?"
Chibi-Kensuke simply jerks his chin in the direction of the playground where his quarry, the fiery foreign red-head Chibi-Asuka and the young Chibi-Shinji whose cheeks were turning just as red, was busy chatting away. Both seemed completely unaware of the fact that the two stooges were watching them. "They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line. Our trio's down to two."
"Oh."
"The sweet caress of twilight," Chibi-Kensuke begins in a mock French accent as he steps out of hiding. "There's magic everywhere. And with all this romantic atmosphere; disaster's in the air!"
"KENSUKE! TOJI!" Chibi-Hikari snaps out. "Stop slacking off and get back to work. You're on cleaning duty, remember!"
"Yes class rep," both boys respond in kind before returning to their assigned duties.