Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Eva is owned by others that make more money than I do (People like Hideaki Anno and Gainax, for example).
However, I DO own this story. I wrote it for people to enjoy, not to plagiarize or sell for profit. Please do not claim it as your own, or try to make money off it. If you want to repost it, just send me an E-mail if you want to translate it or post it on your site.
Comments and Creative Criticism are always welcome. Please send all E-mail to: willz@wpi.edu. No flames - we are all better than that.
Thanks: Special thanks goes to numerous people. I appreciate all the help everyone gave me, and I appreciate their letting me pester them a lot. Special thanks to Aisu, Dr. Geoduck, Xylis, LittlePriest, Zel-ouki, Big__D, Thoth_of_ND, Sethra_lavode, LedZepFan, Gendo_ohki, Taloon, Beagle-san and Kyokki, to name a few.
Dictionary:
Ok - an explanation first: I like the way certain words sound in other languages, so I opted to use those words instead of the English equivalent. They are listed below. Note: Asuka DOES use German occasionally in the sub/dubs, so I am going to keep that up here.
The words/phrases:
hentai, ecchi and sukebe - pervert or perverted (Japanese).
Arschloch - A-Hole (German).
Mein Gott! - My GOD! (German)
Dummkopf - Idiot or moron - literally translated as "stupid head" (German).
Baka - idiot, moron or jerk. The MOST versatile word in Asuka's Japanese dictionary!
Gomen (or Gomen Nasai) - I'm sorry (Japanese)
Note: "chan" at the end of names is used as a familiar title, or one of affection, and "sama" or "san" are ones of respect: the first is very respected, the latter is respect as equals.
Note: There is a German phrase near the end. Asuka says it in English right after. Thanks Dr Geoduck for the German refresher and translations!
Now, Will Z Presents:
She's Got a Way About Her
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfiction
Chapter Two: Caroling
Shinji eyed Asuka warily as they entered the Karaoke bar. He had tried some good old-fashioned chivalry, and attempted to open the door for his companion, but she wouldn't have any of that: She barged ahead of him, making a spectacle of them as she basically stormed into the bar.
"Behold! Asuka has arrived! Let the party begin!" She said, causing the patrons to stare at them. Shinji just sighed, hoping that he could find a way to escape this nightmare.
Touji looked up, his face as flushed as the Class Rep's. The two stole shy glances at each other as Asuka made her way over to them, smiling and chattering away. What she was saying was beyond him, since he had fallen behind and she was speaking softer than the music emanating from some of the open booths. He took a look at the group as a whole: He was dressed in a T-shirt and some pants, while Touji and Kensuke both wore shorts. Asuka had on the sundress she wore on the day she arrived. Hikari wore a nice flowered sundress, and Rei... Well, Rei was dressed in her school uniform, as usual.
"Can you believe that baka," Asuka said as he approached. "He didn't even bother to hold the door open for me. I bet the dummkopf would even forget to push in the chairs, if this bar didn't have booths!"
Shinji was about to protest, when Asuka launched into another tirade.
"Can you believe he was looking at me the whole way here, too? If I weren't afraid he'd make me look foolish, He'd be in traction right now!"
Shinji remembered it differently: He hadn't DARED to look at her, especially after she had held her fist up to him threateningly. It also helped that she walked a good ten paces back from him, or so he guessed. Once in a day was enough for him, and he didn't want to argue while trying to set the others up with their prospective dates. He decided to suffer in silence.
Asuka sat next to Shinji, preparing herself for the worst "date" in history. Not only was it going to be a study "date", it was a TRIPLE study "date"! She had to convince herself that this wasn't' going to affect her, or it could probably ruin her friend's chance to score with the idiot.
She still couldn't see what Hikari found to be so interesting about Touji, especially after he had gawked at Asuka when that wind had practically blown her dress up over her shoulders, yet, if it would make her friend happy, then she would support her - even if it wasn't the brightest move on the Class Rep's part.
Asuka finally got a look at the place, as everyone settled in to seats at the booth. Though it was the third week of November, the business seemed almost too eager about the upcoming holiday, especially with all the angel attacks. Perhaps Misato's wild little idea could actually turn out to be a good thing.
Asuka surveyed the table before her. She had taken one end, while Rei occupied the other, with Kensuke by the doll's side. Shinji sat nervously next to her, leaving Touji and Hikari squeezed into the middle of the curved bench. Shinji took longer to settle into the seat than anyone else. He almost seemed like he was looking for a way to escape. He was constantly looking at her, away at the others, and back at her again, all while his hands were clenched so tightly, his knuckles were almost white.
"So," Hikari said, pulling her notebook from her bag, "Now that we are here..."
"Let's get this show swinging!" Asuka jumped in, slapping the table. She was NOT going to let Hikari be a prude THIS time! She was going to make the Class Rep have some FUN, even if it killed her in the process!
"First," Hikari resumed, giving Asuka a glare, "Let's think about what kind of lights we need to use."
"Lights are good!" Asuka beamed, "I bet we can even get the lasers, if we ask nicely!"
"Asuka," Shinji said, still looking at his hands, but a blush could be seen on his face, "I think Hikari is right: We need to start working on this project."
"MEIN GOTT! Don't you people EVER have any fun?" Asuka complained, leveling a glare at a still-blushing Shinji, "I say we play first, and work later!"
"I agree!" Touji said excitedly, then looked over at his date, gulping nervously, " I mean... If we don't forget that we're here to work, that is."
"I think that we should sing a few songs, to lighten the mood," Kensuke said, the effort plain on his face, "I mean, we have all been at school all day. Don't we deserve to unwind a bit?"
They all turned to Rei, expectantly. She just blinked at them curiously.
"It doesn't really matter either way." She said with her usual calm.
"YES!" Asuka cheered, waving over a nearby waitress. "Now, it's time to have some FUN! The singing order will be Rei, the two stooges, Hikari, the baka, and myself!"
"Hey!" Shinji began to protest "I..."
"Order me a tea, while I go get us the use of the lights!" She said, bounding off to the manager's office.
In a short time, Asuka had used her influence as an Eva pilot to procure the use of the lights, as well as some really vintage karaoke songs. She knew a lot of them were from anime, but it didn't matter, especially since a lot of these songs were still being used in some of her favorite video games. While returning to her seat, she found one in the list she had never expected to see. She grinned, and made a note to drag Shinji on stage as a backup singer.
Kensuke looked up from the silence that affected the table, to see Asuka carrying some old Laser Discs and DVDs, a look of what Kensuke could only call "psychotic joy" spreading across her face. Shinji sprang up, offering to help her, but she shoved him back onto the bench with her hip.
The moments Asuka had been gone had seemed to last an eternity, since nobody even dared to speak out of fear. Rei had sat there placidly, looking at nothing in particular, while Shinji kept looking for the demon-girl. He swore that his own face felt as flushed as Hikari's and Touji's looked. This was supposed to be a recon mission to get to know Rei, but now, the plan seemed to be failing. How WAS he going to try to get her to talk to him about Evas now?
No. He had to collect his thoughts. He had to think of a way to talk to her, maybe get her to open up some, and maybe, she'd talk to him about his favorite obsession. Just maybe.
Asuka flipped through the stack, grabbing a DVD, and passed the stack to Shinji, who repeated the process. Touji picked out a laser disc, and showed the cover to Kensuke. To Kensuke's delight, the stack of almost-ancient stuff the Evil One found made up for her taking charge of this little "date".
Next, it was his turn to pick out something, but just opted to sing along with Touji, in hopes this didn't backfire in their faces.
Hikari had chosen not to pick from the pile of old stuff, instead deciding on some currently-popular girl band instead. Rei also reneged from picking from the stack, choosing to wait until she was up at the microphone before she chose a song. He guessed Rei wasn't one for oldies.
Rei calmly went up to the microphone, spent a moment running through the computer's database before her eyes opened slightly. After typing into the machine what Kensuke thought was the song number, the lights above their booth dimmed.
Suddenly, the music faded in from silence, followed by a discordant noise from what sounded like a synthesizer. The drumbeat following that sound was rather upbeat, and, somehow familiar. The thought faded when Rei finally opened her mouth to sing.
"Kizutsuki kokoro ga kowasa o oboeketeku
Setsunaki kokoro ga nanaika motareteku
Tsuyosa wa subete o tsusumikonda toride
Yasashisa namida o shirazu ni katarenai"
Kensuke was astonished. He looked away from Rei, only to see the others staring at her, with their jaws practically hitting the floor. He turned to look at Rei again, and noticed her eyes were closed as she sang.
He sat there, completely speechless. Rei could SING!
Append that - Rei could sing WELL!
Kensuke got lost in listening to Rei's rendition of the song. He could almost swear that Rei's voice had emotion in it. The lyrics haunted him for some reason, but he shook off the feeling, and lost himself in her music again.
All too soon, Rei finished the song with a nice fade out, bowed, and put the microphone back in its holder. Silence followed her back to her seat, as, Kensuke saw, the whole karaoke bar was staring at the blue-haired girl. Before she sat, he began to clap. Slowly, the rest of the table joined in, followed by the bar. Some of the other patrons of the bar were adding in cat calls and whistles, which put a blush on Rei-chan's cheeks. When the karaoke scoreboard came on, revealing a near-perfect score, Kensuke fumbled for his voter, and within seconds, Rei had a perfect score.
Kensuke smiled at her as she waited for him and Touji to get out to the stage. He blinked. Was Rei smiling? He must have been imagining it, but the look on her face...
While he stood there, mulling it over, Touji started the song going on the Karaoke machine. Touji was to take the first part, and he the second, if he got Touji's earlier hand gestures correct.
"You never close your eyes, anymore when I kiss your lips," Touji sang, somewhat off, but still passable, as he walked over to Hikari with a blush on his cheeks.
He watched Hikari blush, and look down at her hands on the table.
"And there's no tenderness, like before in your fingertips," He sang, unsure if he was even singing the right words or not, as he walked over to Rei while singing. She looked at her fingers, wiggled them, and whispered, "My fingers are at an appropriate level of softness." barely loud enough for him to hear. He sweatdropped, and turned back to the center of the stage.
After, that, the rest of the performance was a blur. He only remembered the laughter from the crowd now gathered around their booth, and the blushes on Hikari and Rei's faces. When the scoring came up at 60 points, the crowd laughed and patted him and Touji on the back as they came back to their seats. Granted the score wasn't as good as Rei's 100 points, but it would do.
Next, Hikari made her way over to the microphone, blushing furiously as she looked through the list of songs. The crowd ordered drinks as she continued her search, and Kensuke was wondering if she'd ever pick a song or not, when the music finally began to play.
"Swaying room as the music starts
Strangers making the most of the dark
Two by two their bodies become one"
Kensuke listened to Hikari sing the old American tune. It was a nice one, and he couldn't quite place it, but everyone else seemed to like it, too. He found his gaze drift over to Rei several times, but she didn't seem to enjoy or hate the music. He sighed, looking over to Touji and almost burst out laughing. Touji looked like a lovesick puppy as he stared at his "study partner". He knew Touji had it bad for the Class Rep, but he didn't know if she liked the pathetic fool or not.
Since Touji was in his own little world, he looked over at the "married couple", only to see Shinji watching Hikari sing, and Asuka casting first a glare, then a wistful look at Shinji. He wondered if Asuka even knew what she felt for Shinji, or if she even DID feel anything for him, the poor guy.
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie. He turned to look at Rei, who seemed to be leaning against him as the music played. He gulped, and turned to stare at her. He could almost swear she had a small smile on her face, as she leaned against him, but then again, he could just be imagining things, too
All too soon, Hikari finished the song, and it was Asuka and Shinji's turn at the microphone. Asuka took the microphone in hand, while Shinji set up the equipment. Asuka commented how the others were just warm-up for herself and her backup singer, and proceeded to tell them that the song was an older German song called "Engel", by a ROM Stein, he thought she said. Either way, nether song or title sounded familiar.
The music began, and surprisingly, it was a really heavy piece from the time when they seemed to enjoy beating their musical instruments, instead of playing them. The first lyric bit came up, and Asuka sang.
"Hey! Demon-girl can sing!" he said, earning him a slap to the back of the head from Hikari.
"Yeah, but her voice is deeper than mine!" Touji complained, earning him some of Kensuke's punishment. Hikari called both of them several types of idiot, before she turned her attention back to the two on stage fumbling their way through the song.
"Ikari-kun seems to be doing well," Rei said, looking impassively at the show, "Though his performance would be better if he knew the song."
Kensuke couldn't help but agree. It seemed the song would have been good IF everyone knew what it was about. Considering that Asuka was probably the only patron to know German, this put her and Shinji at an incredible disadvantage for the scoring part.
The second bit seemed to go a bit better, but Shinji's chorus bits didn't have the enthusiasm as Asuka's parts did. Each time he completed the chorus, she'd dance over to him, swat him upside the head, and gesture to him in a way that showed she wanted him to SING it, and not whisper it.
He felt sorry for Shinji when, for the fourth chorus, she made the international sign for "you're dead" - her hand going across her throat while she growled at him. Even from here, Kensuke could see Shinji gulp, and almost back away from Asuka.
The song ended and Kensuke watched Asuka beam as she waited for the applause. When it finally came, she seemed to be disappointed and angry that it seemed to be just polite cheering, and not the heartfelt applause Rei received earlier. The scoring seemed to darken her mood more, as she screamed out that 40 points was a rip-off, and started to insult Shinji in both German AND Japanese.
They both stopped arguing when Touji commented loud enough for everyone to hear how the "Married Couple" was going at it again, which resulted in a few of the crowd to "score" the fight. It was rather humorous when their fight garnered them a total of 57 points.
With a look of embarrassment on their faces, Shinji and Asuka made their way to the booth; the other patrons laughing and patting them on the back in appreciation of their acting skills. The two blushed redder than Asuka's headgear, and Kensuke couldn't help but smile at his friends' misfortune.
He saw Asuka sit down in a funk, probably mulling over how to even the score between her and Rei. It still surprised him how Asuka chose Rei, the least competitive person he had ever met, to be her rival. Maybe she thought the competitive edge would help them both be better pilots?
"Next song is going to be SOLO!" Asuka complained, "I can't lose to Wonder Girl!"
...Or maybe Asuka was just too competitive for her own good.
Rei got up, but instead of going over to the stage, she seemed to be waiting for something. Finally getting the hint, Kensuke got up and went with Rei over to the music machine. He looked over Rei's shoulder at the potential selections, and noticed a nice one his mother played at home a lot. Kensuke put his hand on her shoulder, which made her gaze at him with eyes that looked almost amethyst in the bluish light of the video screen.
"What about this one?" He offered, "It's got a nice tune, and..." He couldn't finish. The song DID remind him of Rei-chan, who just nodded at the selection.
"This shall be appropriate." She stated, giving Kensuke a slight smile. Kensuke gulped, starting the music playing.
The music began, and Kensuke wasn't sure who should start - he hadn't discussed it with Rei in the FIRST place. They were so going to lose points!
The song's cue arrived before panic could set in, and he saw Rei standing there, her eyes closed once again. He took a deep breath and...
"She deserves it
can't get used to so much joy but hopes that
she deserves it
can't believe there's so much love around her now."
Rei continued to sing, as Kensuke stood there, mouth agape. He couldn't believe that she was singing the song in perfect time to the music AND she was hitting the cues! He saw her look at him, and give him a sly smile as she sang. Kensuke thought this study date thing was going quite well, indeed.
Kensuke was so startled by Rei's smile, he almost missed his cue for his part. He started off woodenly, but got more fluid, the more he got into the song. He was really surprised at how well he seemed to be doing with the number. Granted he still had to look at the lyrics, but he thought his singing wasn't bad enough to make Rei stand out even more. He thought they complimented each other quite well, actually.
He shook himself as his part ended. What was he thinking? He was losing site of the goal: Eva first, everything else took a back seat. He wanted to pilot one in the worst way, and here was a pilot: A nice, somewhat pleasant, mysterious pilot, with the ability to sing like a goddess. A goddess... PILOT... that he was now singing a duet with.
Focus. He thought to himself. Distractions, no matter how pleasant, lead to mistakes. One thing at a time always brings success.
By the time the song was over, Kensuke was a nervous wreck. He was uncertain what the scoring would be, and he still couldn't get Rei's smile out of his mind. She seemed to be...
"Aida-san?" Rei said, looking placidly at him, as they got near the seats.
"Y-Yes, Rei?" He answered feebly. He didn't bother to look at the scoring.
"Is something wrong?" Her eyes bored into Kensuke for the answer. He could feel a lump sticking in his throat from that gaze.
"Huh?" He answered.
"The way you have been staring at me all night. Is something wrong?"
"N-No. No. I was staring? I thought you were smiling at me all night."
"I see." She answered, turning away from him and heading towards the ladies' room on the other side of the bar.
"Someone was seeing things in 'Kensuke-vision', weren't they?" A sly voice said from his other side. Kensuke looked over at Touji with a frown.
"Just shut up, will ya?" Kensuke seethed. Chances were good that he had just set his plans further back than expected.
The walk home was too quiet, considering he was graced once again with Asuka's presence. She seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts; not even taking the time to try to accuse him of being perverted any way, shape or form. He wanted to talk to her, to get her to smile like she had been smiling at the bar, but she seemed too focused on her own thoughts to even pay attention to him.
With a sigh, Shinji tried to tell Asuka how wonderful she had been while singing "Material Girl." He wanted to express how impressed he was that she really had the crowd livened up with her way of flirting with its members. He was surprised when she winked at an occasional patron or ran her hand under another's chin, which caused those centered to grin stupidly.
Shinji found himself wishing Asuka had come over and given him some sort of acknowledgement, but she barely even looked his way the entire song.
He decided to not think about Asuka, but then, he thought of his choice of song for his second round.
"She's got a way about her
Mmmm... I don't know what it is, but I know that I can't live without her."
Sadly, he brought himself to the present. Why am I such a damned fool? He thought to himself. Once, I was happy just being alone and now... Now all I want is Asuka.
This epiphany did nothing to soothe his nerves or his mind.
He kept trying to think of what to say or do to get her to break the silence, but he just couldn't bring himself to do any of the things his mind thought of - especially the one thought where he took hold of her and...
With his shoulders slumped, he didn't notice Asuka give him a concerned look as he walked past her. He was too absorbed in how the ground seemed to mock him as well as she ever could.
Asuka caught up to Shinji as he kept walking down the road. Why hadn't the baka said anything when she tried to talk to him just then? Could it be that he was upset that he only received a measly 73 points, while she and Wonder Girl tied at 100?
She didn't want to say anything to him. It helped that she didn't really know what to say, and rather liked the quiet trek homeward. It kept her from having to hear him whine, at least.
Asuka berated herself yet again for looking over at her slow-walking companion.
What was she thinking, anyways? Sure, he looked like he wanted to talk, but SHE wasn't going to say anything unless HE started a conversation first!
She had been impressed that he really did know how to sing decently, though he'd never make it as a teen idol. Asuka didn't understand why he had been blushing when he sang the song, or even why he wouldn't look at the scoring. At least Shinji seemed to have cheered up a bit more, even though they wasted all their meeting time singing, dancing, laughing and drinking green tea instead of planning their project.
She didn't know who started singing Christmas carols in the first place, but Shinji seemed to not enjoy the festivities or the songs after that. She even tried a few cheery tunes such as "Jingle Bell Rock", but noting seemed to work. He had barely seemed to sing with them as they all got up and started singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" A capella.
The redhead pulled her hand back, surprised that she had been about to reach for his shoulder. She clenched her hand into a fist, and put it down by her side. Asuka berated herself once again, yet she should grab hold of him, and...
Pressing her hands firmly to her temples, Asuka attempted to drive the memory of that first kiss from her mind. It never happened. None of it, even when she felt her tongue begin to slide...
Shaking her head in frustration, she took off once again to catch up to the one person that made her life so complicated.
"Quiet, baka, or Misato will hear us!" the Second Child hissed as the Third fumbled with his keys. She kept looking around as if she expected Misato to jump out of the woodwork, and say they wouldn't be able to pilot the Evas anymore because they had come home late.
Shinji knew that Misato was probably already snoring at her terminal, with a puddle of drool forming where her cheek met the desk.
He was finally able to get the key ring out of his pocket at the expense of tearing a hole in it's seam, so he shoved the key into the hole, turned the knob, and entered the apartment.
Misato was asleep at the table, a beer in one hand and a report in the other. The report kept falling dangerously close to the Christmas candles she was burning at the table. She must have been unconscious for a while, because all the wax seemed to be on the table instead of in their original cylindrical shape. One of the candles was dangerously close to the long-sleeved shirt the Major was wearing, and another one's wax had effectively melted itself into some of her purplish, almost black hair.
Shinji sweatdropped, and he could have sworn he heard Asuka whisper a startled "Mein Gott!" from behind him. Fortunately, Pen-pen seemed to realize he was much safer in his refrigerator, especially with a drunk Misato and burning candles everywhere. He couldn't blame the bird, really. From what he could smell, he bet that Misato could have set the apartment aflame with one good belch.
While Shinji blew out the candles, Asuka carefully grabbed the papers out of her guardian's hands and placed them on the only clean part of the table. Shinji silently prayed that Misato wouldn't wake up - if she did, she'd make their morning synch tests a living hell.
After making their way out of the kitchen, they both stopped next to their respective doors. There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Shinji waited for the inevitable explosion from Asuka. He expected her to brag about her stellar solo performance, or their lackluster duet, but the redhead had never mentioned either all night.
The silence stretched for what seemed an eternity. Shinji found himself wanting to move, to run away from the conflict brewing before him, but he was too paralyzed to move.
"Shinji?" Asuka said suddenly, looking him in the eyes. He wanted to melt when she looked at him with those eyes.
"Yes, Asuka?" He answered feebly.
"I really had fun tonight," she said, causing him to start, "even if I was forced to be with a baka like you." With those words, she pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him before entering her room.
Shinji watched Asuka's door slide shut. He could feel his heart almost pounding its way out of his chest. The urge to slide her door open and kiss her goodnight subdued by his mind finally processing what she said: She was forced to be with him all night. Forced. Not "spent with". Not "escorted by". Forced.
Shinji entered his room, curling up on the bed with his SDAT player. He tried to find solace in the music; something to soothe him, but noting seemed to work.
I really had fun tonight, even if I was forced to be with a baka like you.
With those words pounding relentlessly against him, Shinji didn't even notice the tears falling onto his SDAT.
**
OMAKE!
Misato was asleep at the table, a beer in one hand and a report in the other. The report kept falling dangerously close to the Christmas candles she was burning at the table. She must have been unconscious for a while, because all the wax seemed to be on the table instead of in their original cylindrical shape. One of the candles was dangerously close to the long-sleeved shirt the Major was wearing, and another one's wax had effectively melted itself into some of her purplish, almost black hair.
Shinji sweatdropped, and he could have sworn he heard Asuka whisper a startled "Mein Gott!" from behind him.
"Is that one of those kinky fetishes?" Shinji asked after a moment's silence.
"I think so," Asuka replied, still staring, "but wouldn't it make more sense if she were naked?"
"This is MISATO we're talking about." He whispered, still trying not to even think of the perversity involved.
"True." Asuka replied, shuddering slightly, "Let's go to bed, and leave her to her own devices..."
Shinji couldn't have agreed more - they would mark this as "classified" and NEVER speak of it again!
However, I DO own this story. I wrote it for people to enjoy, not to plagiarize or sell for profit. Please do not claim it as your own, or try to make money off it. If you want to repost it, just send me an E-mail if you want to translate it or post it on your site.
Comments and Creative Criticism are always welcome. Please send all E-mail to: willz@wpi.edu. No flames - we are all better than that.
Thanks: Special thanks goes to numerous people. I appreciate all the help everyone gave me, and I appreciate their letting me pester them a lot. Special thanks to Aisu, Dr. Geoduck, Xylis, LittlePriest, Zel-ouki, Big__D, Thoth_of_ND, Sethra_lavode, LedZepFan, Gendo_ohki, Taloon, Beagle-san and Kyokki, to name a few.
Dictionary:
Ok - an explanation first: I like the way certain words sound in other languages, so I opted to use those words instead of the English equivalent. They are listed below. Note: Asuka DOES use German occasionally in the sub/dubs, so I am going to keep that up here.
The words/phrases:
hentai, ecchi and sukebe - pervert or perverted (Japanese).
Arschloch - A-Hole (German).
Mein Gott! - My GOD! (German)
Dummkopf - Idiot or moron - literally translated as "stupid head" (German).
Baka - idiot, moron or jerk. The MOST versatile word in Asuka's Japanese dictionary!
Gomen (or Gomen Nasai) - I'm sorry (Japanese)
Note: "chan" at the end of names is used as a familiar title, or one of affection, and "sama" or "san" are ones of respect: the first is very respected, the latter is respect as equals.
Note: There is a German phrase near the end. Asuka says it in English right after. Thanks Dr Geoduck for the German refresher and translations!
Now, Will Z Presents:
She's Got a Way About Her
A Neon Genesis Evangelion fanfiction
Chapter Two: Caroling
Shinji eyed Asuka warily as they entered the Karaoke bar. He had tried some good old-fashioned chivalry, and attempted to open the door for his companion, but she wouldn't have any of that: She barged ahead of him, making a spectacle of them as she basically stormed into the bar.
"Behold! Asuka has arrived! Let the party begin!" She said, causing the patrons to stare at them. Shinji just sighed, hoping that he could find a way to escape this nightmare.
Touji looked up, his face as flushed as the Class Rep's. The two stole shy glances at each other as Asuka made her way over to them, smiling and chattering away. What she was saying was beyond him, since he had fallen behind and she was speaking softer than the music emanating from some of the open booths. He took a look at the group as a whole: He was dressed in a T-shirt and some pants, while Touji and Kensuke both wore shorts. Asuka had on the sundress she wore on the day she arrived. Hikari wore a nice flowered sundress, and Rei... Well, Rei was dressed in her school uniform, as usual.
"Can you believe that baka," Asuka said as he approached. "He didn't even bother to hold the door open for me. I bet the dummkopf would even forget to push in the chairs, if this bar didn't have booths!"
Shinji was about to protest, when Asuka launched into another tirade.
"Can you believe he was looking at me the whole way here, too? If I weren't afraid he'd make me look foolish, He'd be in traction right now!"
Shinji remembered it differently: He hadn't DARED to look at her, especially after she had held her fist up to him threateningly. It also helped that she walked a good ten paces back from him, or so he guessed. Once in a day was enough for him, and he didn't want to argue while trying to set the others up with their prospective dates. He decided to suffer in silence.
Asuka sat next to Shinji, preparing herself for the worst "date" in history. Not only was it going to be a study "date", it was a TRIPLE study "date"! She had to convince herself that this wasn't' going to affect her, or it could probably ruin her friend's chance to score with the idiot.
She still couldn't see what Hikari found to be so interesting about Touji, especially after he had gawked at Asuka when that wind had practically blown her dress up over her shoulders, yet, if it would make her friend happy, then she would support her - even if it wasn't the brightest move on the Class Rep's part.
Asuka finally got a look at the place, as everyone settled in to seats at the booth. Though it was the third week of November, the business seemed almost too eager about the upcoming holiday, especially with all the angel attacks. Perhaps Misato's wild little idea could actually turn out to be a good thing.
Asuka surveyed the table before her. She had taken one end, while Rei occupied the other, with Kensuke by the doll's side. Shinji sat nervously next to her, leaving Touji and Hikari squeezed into the middle of the curved bench. Shinji took longer to settle into the seat than anyone else. He almost seemed like he was looking for a way to escape. He was constantly looking at her, away at the others, and back at her again, all while his hands were clenched so tightly, his knuckles were almost white.
"So," Hikari said, pulling her notebook from her bag, "Now that we are here..."
"Let's get this show swinging!" Asuka jumped in, slapping the table. She was NOT going to let Hikari be a prude THIS time! She was going to make the Class Rep have some FUN, even if it killed her in the process!
"First," Hikari resumed, giving Asuka a glare, "Let's think about what kind of lights we need to use."
"Lights are good!" Asuka beamed, "I bet we can even get the lasers, if we ask nicely!"
"Asuka," Shinji said, still looking at his hands, but a blush could be seen on his face, "I think Hikari is right: We need to start working on this project."
"MEIN GOTT! Don't you people EVER have any fun?" Asuka complained, leveling a glare at a still-blushing Shinji, "I say we play first, and work later!"
"I agree!" Touji said excitedly, then looked over at his date, gulping nervously, " I mean... If we don't forget that we're here to work, that is."
"I think that we should sing a few songs, to lighten the mood," Kensuke said, the effort plain on his face, "I mean, we have all been at school all day. Don't we deserve to unwind a bit?"
They all turned to Rei, expectantly. She just blinked at them curiously.
"It doesn't really matter either way." She said with her usual calm.
"YES!" Asuka cheered, waving over a nearby waitress. "Now, it's time to have some FUN! The singing order will be Rei, the two stooges, Hikari, the baka, and myself!"
"Hey!" Shinji began to protest "I..."
"Order me a tea, while I go get us the use of the lights!" She said, bounding off to the manager's office.
In a short time, Asuka had used her influence as an Eva pilot to procure the use of the lights, as well as some really vintage karaoke songs. She knew a lot of them were from anime, but it didn't matter, especially since a lot of these songs were still being used in some of her favorite video games. While returning to her seat, she found one in the list she had never expected to see. She grinned, and made a note to drag Shinji on stage as a backup singer.
Kensuke looked up from the silence that affected the table, to see Asuka carrying some old Laser Discs and DVDs, a look of what Kensuke could only call "psychotic joy" spreading across her face. Shinji sprang up, offering to help her, but she shoved him back onto the bench with her hip.
The moments Asuka had been gone had seemed to last an eternity, since nobody even dared to speak out of fear. Rei had sat there placidly, looking at nothing in particular, while Shinji kept looking for the demon-girl. He swore that his own face felt as flushed as Hikari's and Touji's looked. This was supposed to be a recon mission to get to know Rei, but now, the plan seemed to be failing. How WAS he going to try to get her to talk to him about Evas now?
No. He had to collect his thoughts. He had to think of a way to talk to her, maybe get her to open up some, and maybe, she'd talk to him about his favorite obsession. Just maybe.
Asuka flipped through the stack, grabbing a DVD, and passed the stack to Shinji, who repeated the process. Touji picked out a laser disc, and showed the cover to Kensuke. To Kensuke's delight, the stack of almost-ancient stuff the Evil One found made up for her taking charge of this little "date".
Next, it was his turn to pick out something, but just opted to sing along with Touji, in hopes this didn't backfire in their faces.
Hikari had chosen not to pick from the pile of old stuff, instead deciding on some currently-popular girl band instead. Rei also reneged from picking from the stack, choosing to wait until she was up at the microphone before she chose a song. He guessed Rei wasn't one for oldies.
Rei calmly went up to the microphone, spent a moment running through the computer's database before her eyes opened slightly. After typing into the machine what Kensuke thought was the song number, the lights above their booth dimmed.
Suddenly, the music faded in from silence, followed by a discordant noise from what sounded like a synthesizer. The drumbeat following that sound was rather upbeat, and, somehow familiar. The thought faded when Rei finally opened her mouth to sing.
"Kizutsuki kokoro ga kowasa o oboeketeku
Setsunaki kokoro ga nanaika motareteku
Tsuyosa wa subete o tsusumikonda toride
Yasashisa namida o shirazu ni katarenai"
Kensuke was astonished. He looked away from Rei, only to see the others staring at her, with their jaws practically hitting the floor. He turned to look at Rei again, and noticed her eyes were closed as she sang.
He sat there, completely speechless. Rei could SING!
Append that - Rei could sing WELL!
Kensuke got lost in listening to Rei's rendition of the song. He could almost swear that Rei's voice had emotion in it. The lyrics haunted him for some reason, but he shook off the feeling, and lost himself in her music again.
All too soon, Rei finished the song with a nice fade out, bowed, and put the microphone back in its holder. Silence followed her back to her seat, as, Kensuke saw, the whole karaoke bar was staring at the blue-haired girl. Before she sat, he began to clap. Slowly, the rest of the table joined in, followed by the bar. Some of the other patrons of the bar were adding in cat calls and whistles, which put a blush on Rei-chan's cheeks. When the karaoke scoreboard came on, revealing a near-perfect score, Kensuke fumbled for his voter, and within seconds, Rei had a perfect score.
Kensuke smiled at her as she waited for him and Touji to get out to the stage. He blinked. Was Rei smiling? He must have been imagining it, but the look on her face...
While he stood there, mulling it over, Touji started the song going on the Karaoke machine. Touji was to take the first part, and he the second, if he got Touji's earlier hand gestures correct.
"You never close your eyes, anymore when I kiss your lips," Touji sang, somewhat off, but still passable, as he walked over to Hikari with a blush on his cheeks.
He watched Hikari blush, and look down at her hands on the table.
"And there's no tenderness, like before in your fingertips," He sang, unsure if he was even singing the right words or not, as he walked over to Rei while singing. She looked at her fingers, wiggled them, and whispered, "My fingers are at an appropriate level of softness." barely loud enough for him to hear. He sweatdropped, and turned back to the center of the stage.
After, that, the rest of the performance was a blur. He only remembered the laughter from the crowd now gathered around their booth, and the blushes on Hikari and Rei's faces. When the scoring came up at 60 points, the crowd laughed and patted him and Touji on the back as they came back to their seats. Granted the score wasn't as good as Rei's 100 points, but it would do.
Next, Hikari made her way over to the microphone, blushing furiously as she looked through the list of songs. The crowd ordered drinks as she continued her search, and Kensuke was wondering if she'd ever pick a song or not, when the music finally began to play.
"Swaying room as the music starts
Strangers making the most of the dark
Two by two their bodies become one"
Kensuke listened to Hikari sing the old American tune. It was a nice one, and he couldn't quite place it, but everyone else seemed to like it, too. He found his gaze drift over to Rei several times, but she didn't seem to enjoy or hate the music. He sighed, looking over to Touji and almost burst out laughing. Touji looked like a lovesick puppy as he stared at his "study partner". He knew Touji had it bad for the Class Rep, but he didn't know if she liked the pathetic fool or not.
Since Touji was in his own little world, he looked over at the "married couple", only to see Shinji watching Hikari sing, and Asuka casting first a glare, then a wistful look at Shinji. He wondered if Asuka even knew what she felt for Shinji, or if she even DID feel anything for him, the poor guy.
Suddenly, he was snapped out of his reverie. He turned to look at Rei, who seemed to be leaning against him as the music played. He gulped, and turned to stare at her. He could almost swear she had a small smile on her face, as she leaned against him, but then again, he could just be imagining things, too
All too soon, Hikari finished the song, and it was Asuka and Shinji's turn at the microphone. Asuka took the microphone in hand, while Shinji set up the equipment. Asuka commented how the others were just warm-up for herself and her backup singer, and proceeded to tell them that the song was an older German song called "Engel", by a ROM Stein, he thought she said. Either way, nether song or title sounded familiar.
The music began, and surprisingly, it was a really heavy piece from the time when they seemed to enjoy beating their musical instruments, instead of playing them. The first lyric bit came up, and Asuka sang.
"Hey! Demon-girl can sing!" he said, earning him a slap to the back of the head from Hikari.
"Yeah, but her voice is deeper than mine!" Touji complained, earning him some of Kensuke's punishment. Hikari called both of them several types of idiot, before she turned her attention back to the two on stage fumbling their way through the song.
"Ikari-kun seems to be doing well," Rei said, looking impassively at the show, "Though his performance would be better if he knew the song."
Kensuke couldn't help but agree. It seemed the song would have been good IF everyone knew what it was about. Considering that Asuka was probably the only patron to know German, this put her and Shinji at an incredible disadvantage for the scoring part.
The second bit seemed to go a bit better, but Shinji's chorus bits didn't have the enthusiasm as Asuka's parts did. Each time he completed the chorus, she'd dance over to him, swat him upside the head, and gesture to him in a way that showed she wanted him to SING it, and not whisper it.
He felt sorry for Shinji when, for the fourth chorus, she made the international sign for "you're dead" - her hand going across her throat while she growled at him. Even from here, Kensuke could see Shinji gulp, and almost back away from Asuka.
The song ended and Kensuke watched Asuka beam as she waited for the applause. When it finally came, she seemed to be disappointed and angry that it seemed to be just polite cheering, and not the heartfelt applause Rei received earlier. The scoring seemed to darken her mood more, as she screamed out that 40 points was a rip-off, and started to insult Shinji in both German AND Japanese.
They both stopped arguing when Touji commented loud enough for everyone to hear how the "Married Couple" was going at it again, which resulted in a few of the crowd to "score" the fight. It was rather humorous when their fight garnered them a total of 57 points.
With a look of embarrassment on their faces, Shinji and Asuka made their way to the booth; the other patrons laughing and patting them on the back in appreciation of their acting skills. The two blushed redder than Asuka's headgear, and Kensuke couldn't help but smile at his friends' misfortune.
He saw Asuka sit down in a funk, probably mulling over how to even the score between her and Rei. It still surprised him how Asuka chose Rei, the least competitive person he had ever met, to be her rival. Maybe she thought the competitive edge would help them both be better pilots?
"Next song is going to be SOLO!" Asuka complained, "I can't lose to Wonder Girl!"
...Or maybe Asuka was just too competitive for her own good.
Rei got up, but instead of going over to the stage, she seemed to be waiting for something. Finally getting the hint, Kensuke got up and went with Rei over to the music machine. He looked over Rei's shoulder at the potential selections, and noticed a nice one his mother played at home a lot. Kensuke put his hand on her shoulder, which made her gaze at him with eyes that looked almost amethyst in the bluish light of the video screen.
"What about this one?" He offered, "It's got a nice tune, and..." He couldn't finish. The song DID remind him of Rei-chan, who just nodded at the selection.
"This shall be appropriate." She stated, giving Kensuke a slight smile. Kensuke gulped, starting the music playing.
The music began, and Kensuke wasn't sure who should start - he hadn't discussed it with Rei in the FIRST place. They were so going to lose points!
The song's cue arrived before panic could set in, and he saw Rei standing there, her eyes closed once again. He took a deep breath and...
"She deserves it
can't get used to so much joy but hopes that
she deserves it
can't believe there's so much love around her now."
Rei continued to sing, as Kensuke stood there, mouth agape. He couldn't believe that she was singing the song in perfect time to the music AND she was hitting the cues! He saw her look at him, and give him a sly smile as she sang. Kensuke thought this study date thing was going quite well, indeed.
Kensuke was so startled by Rei's smile, he almost missed his cue for his part. He started off woodenly, but got more fluid, the more he got into the song. He was really surprised at how well he seemed to be doing with the number. Granted he still had to look at the lyrics, but he thought his singing wasn't bad enough to make Rei stand out even more. He thought they complimented each other quite well, actually.
He shook himself as his part ended. What was he thinking? He was losing site of the goal: Eva first, everything else took a back seat. He wanted to pilot one in the worst way, and here was a pilot: A nice, somewhat pleasant, mysterious pilot, with the ability to sing like a goddess. A goddess... PILOT... that he was now singing a duet with.
Focus. He thought to himself. Distractions, no matter how pleasant, lead to mistakes. One thing at a time always brings success.
By the time the song was over, Kensuke was a nervous wreck. He was uncertain what the scoring would be, and he still couldn't get Rei's smile out of his mind. She seemed to be...
"Aida-san?" Rei said, looking placidly at him, as they got near the seats.
"Y-Yes, Rei?" He answered feebly. He didn't bother to look at the scoring.
"Is something wrong?" Her eyes bored into Kensuke for the answer. He could feel a lump sticking in his throat from that gaze.
"Huh?" He answered.
"The way you have been staring at me all night. Is something wrong?"
"N-No. No. I was staring? I thought you were smiling at me all night."
"I see." She answered, turning away from him and heading towards the ladies' room on the other side of the bar.
"Someone was seeing things in 'Kensuke-vision', weren't they?" A sly voice said from his other side. Kensuke looked over at Touji with a frown.
"Just shut up, will ya?" Kensuke seethed. Chances were good that he had just set his plans further back than expected.
The walk home was too quiet, considering he was graced once again with Asuka's presence. She seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts; not even taking the time to try to accuse him of being perverted any way, shape or form. He wanted to talk to her, to get her to smile like she had been smiling at the bar, but she seemed too focused on her own thoughts to even pay attention to him.
With a sigh, Shinji tried to tell Asuka how wonderful she had been while singing "Material Girl." He wanted to express how impressed he was that she really had the crowd livened up with her way of flirting with its members. He was surprised when she winked at an occasional patron or ran her hand under another's chin, which caused those centered to grin stupidly.
Shinji found himself wishing Asuka had come over and given him some sort of acknowledgement, but she barely even looked his way the entire song.
He decided to not think about Asuka, but then, he thought of his choice of song for his second round.
"She's got a way about her
Mmmm... I don't know what it is, but I know that I can't live without her."
Sadly, he brought himself to the present. Why am I such a damned fool? He thought to himself. Once, I was happy just being alone and now... Now all I want is Asuka.
This epiphany did nothing to soothe his nerves or his mind.
He kept trying to think of what to say or do to get her to break the silence, but he just couldn't bring himself to do any of the things his mind thought of - especially the one thought where he took hold of her and...
With his shoulders slumped, he didn't notice Asuka give him a concerned look as he walked past her. He was too absorbed in how the ground seemed to mock him as well as she ever could.
Asuka caught up to Shinji as he kept walking down the road. Why hadn't the baka said anything when she tried to talk to him just then? Could it be that he was upset that he only received a measly 73 points, while she and Wonder Girl tied at 100?
She didn't want to say anything to him. It helped that she didn't really know what to say, and rather liked the quiet trek homeward. It kept her from having to hear him whine, at least.
Asuka berated herself yet again for looking over at her slow-walking companion.
What was she thinking, anyways? Sure, he looked like he wanted to talk, but SHE wasn't going to say anything unless HE started a conversation first!
She had been impressed that he really did know how to sing decently, though he'd never make it as a teen idol. Asuka didn't understand why he had been blushing when he sang the song, or even why he wouldn't look at the scoring. At least Shinji seemed to have cheered up a bit more, even though they wasted all their meeting time singing, dancing, laughing and drinking green tea instead of planning their project.
She didn't know who started singing Christmas carols in the first place, but Shinji seemed to not enjoy the festivities or the songs after that. She even tried a few cheery tunes such as "Jingle Bell Rock", but noting seemed to work. He had barely seemed to sing with them as they all got up and started singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" A capella.
The redhead pulled her hand back, surprised that she had been about to reach for his shoulder. She clenched her hand into a fist, and put it down by her side. Asuka berated herself once again, yet she should grab hold of him, and...
Pressing her hands firmly to her temples, Asuka attempted to drive the memory of that first kiss from her mind. It never happened. None of it, even when she felt her tongue begin to slide...
Shaking her head in frustration, she took off once again to catch up to the one person that made her life so complicated.
"Quiet, baka, or Misato will hear us!" the Second Child hissed as the Third fumbled with his keys. She kept looking around as if she expected Misato to jump out of the woodwork, and say they wouldn't be able to pilot the Evas anymore because they had come home late.
Shinji knew that Misato was probably already snoring at her terminal, with a puddle of drool forming where her cheek met the desk.
He was finally able to get the key ring out of his pocket at the expense of tearing a hole in it's seam, so he shoved the key into the hole, turned the knob, and entered the apartment.
Misato was asleep at the table, a beer in one hand and a report in the other. The report kept falling dangerously close to the Christmas candles she was burning at the table. She must have been unconscious for a while, because all the wax seemed to be on the table instead of in their original cylindrical shape. One of the candles was dangerously close to the long-sleeved shirt the Major was wearing, and another one's wax had effectively melted itself into some of her purplish, almost black hair.
Shinji sweatdropped, and he could have sworn he heard Asuka whisper a startled "Mein Gott!" from behind him. Fortunately, Pen-pen seemed to realize he was much safer in his refrigerator, especially with a drunk Misato and burning candles everywhere. He couldn't blame the bird, really. From what he could smell, he bet that Misato could have set the apartment aflame with one good belch.
While Shinji blew out the candles, Asuka carefully grabbed the papers out of her guardian's hands and placed them on the only clean part of the table. Shinji silently prayed that Misato wouldn't wake up - if she did, she'd make their morning synch tests a living hell.
After making their way out of the kitchen, they both stopped next to their respective doors. There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Shinji waited for the inevitable explosion from Asuka. He expected her to brag about her stellar solo performance, or their lackluster duet, but the redhead had never mentioned either all night.
The silence stretched for what seemed an eternity. Shinji found himself wanting to move, to run away from the conflict brewing before him, but he was too paralyzed to move.
"Shinji?" Asuka said suddenly, looking him in the eyes. He wanted to melt when she looked at him with those eyes.
"Yes, Asuka?" He answered feebly.
"I really had fun tonight," she said, causing him to start, "even if I was forced to be with a baka like you." With those words, she pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at him before entering her room.
Shinji watched Asuka's door slide shut. He could feel his heart almost pounding its way out of his chest. The urge to slide her door open and kiss her goodnight subdued by his mind finally processing what she said: She was forced to be with him all night. Forced. Not "spent with". Not "escorted by". Forced.
Shinji entered his room, curling up on the bed with his SDAT player. He tried to find solace in the music; something to soothe him, but noting seemed to work.
I really had fun tonight, even if I was forced to be with a baka like you.
With those words pounding relentlessly against him, Shinji didn't even notice the tears falling onto his SDAT.
**
OMAKE!
Misato was asleep at the table, a beer in one hand and a report in the other. The report kept falling dangerously close to the Christmas candles she was burning at the table. She must have been unconscious for a while, because all the wax seemed to be on the table instead of in their original cylindrical shape. One of the candles was dangerously close to the long-sleeved shirt the Major was wearing, and another one's wax had effectively melted itself into some of her purplish, almost black hair.
Shinji sweatdropped, and he could have sworn he heard Asuka whisper a startled "Mein Gott!" from behind him.
"Is that one of those kinky fetishes?" Shinji asked after a moment's silence.
"I think so," Asuka replied, still staring, "but wouldn't it make more sense if she were naked?"
"This is MISATO we're talking about." He whispered, still trying not to even think of the perversity involved.
"True." Asuka replied, shuddering slightly, "Let's go to bed, and leave her to her own devices..."
Shinji couldn't have agreed more - they would mark this as "classified" and NEVER speak of it again!