With this chapter, I'm going to pick up right where I left off last chapter. Well nick2951, let's go with your idea that there is a new Committee with different old coots. However, let's also say these people don't give Gendo a hard time like the Committee before this one. Expect more Shinji x Asuka in this chapter. Now on with the story!
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"Yeah, okay. What? I have to wear something nice? But I didn't pack any suits! Alright fine, I'll go buy one!" Zack hangs up his cell phone. "Shit! I didn't bring a suit!" And so he decided to check out the downtown district to see what he could find. After the sundae treats, he had planned to go for a stroll back down to the beach and try to use Kaji's advice to pick up girls. But the call from Misato had disrupted his plans. So now he was in the downtown district, his attention then temporarily distracted by the taxi that almost ran him over. "Burn in hell you crazy wide-eyed asshole!" he had shouted.
He heard laughing behind him. And so he turned in the direction of the laugh. It was Elly. "What brings you downtown mate?" she asked.
"Well, Misato just told me that Kaji set up a dinner plan for all of us and I need to buy a suit." Zack then asked, "Why are you in the downtown area? Don't you have a dress for the dinner plan tonight?"
She smiled. "Yeah I got a dress. But I want a different one. You can't always wear the same one over and over again. You just don't do that."
Zack got an idea. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't be both go to a clothing store and find something nice to wear for this evening!"
Elly seemed to like that idea. "Score! You're definitely more fun than Toji is. He didn't even want to go surfing with me because of this Hikari girl. He thought I was going to make a move on him and his squeeze would be mad. I got some sense. Well, let's go. To Sears!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sears either. I'm not sure if Simpson still owns Sears or not.
And so off the Canadian and the Australian went.
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Misato knew she would have to tell Asuka and Shinji about the evening plans. But the last time she saw them, they were enjoying a moment of bliss she did not dare interrupt. So she called Zack and informed him about the plans. Turns out Casanova didn't have a suit, which he was none too happy to have to go get. Rei, Toji, and Ivana were called not long after that. Luckily, they each had something nice to wear.
An idea came to Misato's mind. She could just simply knock on Shinji and Asuka's door and "unintentionally" interrupt the moment. She mentally kicked herself for not thinking of that sooner. So Misato, beer in hand, made her way down to Shinji and Asuka's room. Along the way, she wondered why Shinji and Asuka were the only ones sharing a room. Probably one of Elly's ways of getting at Asuka. Then she remembered that the name on the keys they were given were Shinji and Asuka Ikari. And Asuka didn't like that one bit.
Misato was so lost in her thoughts and the beer that she realized she had overshot the lovebirds' door. Now she had to backtrack ALL 15 steps that she had passed the door by. Curious as she was, she put her ear to the door. Judging by the sounds she heard, they were still somewhat at it. She knocked. After about seven seconds, Asuka came to the door. "What is Misato?" she asked.
"Oh, I just came to tell you that Kaji has a dinner planned for us tonight. So you and Shinji had better have something nice to wear," said Misato.
Asuka reassured her. "Don't worry Misato. I packed Shinji the suit he wore to the Tokyo-3 Ball. If he didn't have me around, he wouldn't know what to do. And I got something as well. So just say the word and we'll be set."
"Great! Be downstairs in the lobby in three hours! Don't get too much lipstick on Shinji now!" Misato quickly shut the door and took off, leaving Asuka no one to yell at.
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Gendo Ikari had been doing some research into the Black Angels. The new Committee had been somewhat more helpful and more pleasant to speak with than the last Committee. He had found out that the Black Angels came from Hell whereas the Angels came from Heaven. And apparently, there were going to be seventeen of them, just like the Angels. However, there was a problem. The Black Angels could all conjure the Seal of Diablos on their own without the chant that enemy pilots have had to use.
Another issue that finally found resolving was Asuka and Shinji both being able to achieve a 500-sync ratio. Shinji had a purpose, which was to decide the fate of humanity during 3rd Impact. Rei had a purpose, which was to fuse with Adam. Or so was Gendo's intent but she fused with Lillith instead. And now Gendo learned Asuka had a purpose. Asuka's purpose was still unknown for the moment. All he and the committee could think of was that Asuka's destiny was linked to Shinji's. The reason their destinies were seemed to be linked was suggested that although Shinji had completed his original purpose. He could still hit high sync ratios. So his purpose was not over yet. The purpose of the others was still unknown at the moment. But any help they could provide would be appreciated.
He was currently on a plane to Sydney, Australia and left Fuyutski in charge of NERV while he was gone. He was going there for three reasons. One, was to officially acquire custody of the Seventh Child, Elly Simpson. Two, was to speak with Commander Von Croy. Third, was to speak with Shinji and Asuka to inquire as much as he could about the 500-sync ratios. He sipped his white wine as he picked up a book and started to read.
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Sears
Zack and Elly were now in Sears. They both knew right away that it would take Elly longer to pick out a dress to wear. So they decided that Elly should pick out something first.
"So, I'll try this one out first," said Elly. She had selected many of the pink dresses that were there. "I want you to judge if they're good or not."
"Okay. I'll wait here while you try your dresses on," replied Zack. After ten minutes of waiting and rustling of clothes, Elly emerged.
Elly's first choice had shoulder straps and covered all of her midsection. It came with pink elbow length gloves. "So. What do you think?"
Zack had a look of approval on his face. "I think it looks great on you. But wouldn't it be a little hot on you though?"
"Good point. Next dress."
And so Elly went back into the changeroom. Zack had to wait another ten minutes of clothes rustling. Elly reemerged. And as time went on by, each drsss she was trying on had less and less covering than the previous ones.
Finally, Elly reemerged with the last dress she had found. This one only covered the bare necessities but yet could still be called a dress. "So, what do you think of this one?"
"I think they all look great on you," said Zack.
"Meh. I was going to choose this one anyway. Did you like the show I put on for you?"
Zack was thrown off by Elly's last comment. But he didn't want Elly to know that. "Hell yeah! I got a private performance!"
"Now it's your turn to get changed!" she said.
Luckily, it didn't take that long for Zack to select something he liked. Elly was slightly disappointed that he didn't go through many different suits. Once they had what they wanted, the both went to the checkout aisle. One could almost say that these two were going out.
Once the two had paid for their choices of clothing, Zack returned to the hotel, and Elly returned to NERV to prepare for the evening.
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Toji had spent a majority of the day talking to Hikari over MSN Messenger. He told her he was having all sorts of fun here in Australia. He told her about the Sea-Doo adventures, the ice cream, the Seventh Child, how Shinji and Asuka were doing. Hikari told Toji that she was happy that he was having a good time. She told him how Kensuke had missed him quite a bit. He had this new movie about the exploits of American soldiers fighting guerrilla fighters in some Middle Eastern country. She also told Toji that she missed him very much and that she had a special surprise waiting for him when she got home. She also thanked him for the postcard that he had sent. NERV's postal system was top of the line.
After saying goodbye and logging off, Toji went to prepare for dinner. He was glad Kensuke and Hikari helped him pack for the trip, otherwise he would be missing a few things to bring. He found his suit and prepared to get ready for the party.
"I wonder what kind of food they'll have there," he said aloud.
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Once Shinji and Asuka heard about the party, they also immediately started getting prepared. Shinji had found the suit that Asuka had packed for him. He changed in the bedroom whilst Asuka was in the bathroom preparing. Shinji always wondered why girls took so long getting ready. They wouldn't have to be there for very long. But then again, that would be a problem he could easily avoid, because he was not a girl. While waiting for Asuka, he turned on the TV. Although he couldn't understand what the channels talked about, it gave him something to do, and hopefully, he could pick up a few English words.
Asuka was in the bathroom getting ready to go to the dinner party. She had already selected her dress that she was going to wear. Little did she know that the dress she selected was the exact same as Elly's with the exception that Asuka's was red whereas Elly's was pink.
The first thing she decided to do was take a shower. This gave her time to think about all sorts of things. She thought about the past few days here in Australia. Elly was such a bitch to her when they first met. She had no business calling her a psychobitch. She thought about the time Zack convinced Shinji that surfing was easy. Served Zack right for getting that shark bite. She reached for the shampoo. While she was scrubbing her hair, she thought about the terrorist attack at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef. Elly barely had a clue of what to do. If it wasn't for dumb luck, the N2 bombs would have gone off and the resulting tidal wave would have swallowed Sydney. And luckily Shinji was there to save them both from the enemy EVA. But even the Invincible Shinji had his limits. As she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, she then applied conditioner thereafter. She then thought about her battle with what Misato had called a Black Angel. And how her mother had helped from beyond the grave once more. And she had been victorious. But she then pondered the fact that if there was one Black Angel, there were others probably too.
Her next thoughts went to Shinji and Rei. She thought about what they all represented. Rei could usually come across as cold, so she would most likely represent ice. When she thought about herself and what she represented, she thought about what everyone else had thought of her slightly bad temper. Her love of the colour red also came into consideration. Then she decided that she represented fire. Then, her next thought was what Shinji represented. There seemed to be two sides to the boy she loved. There was Shinji at home, who was calm, quiet, and loved to cook. Then, there was the side of Shinji no one should mess with. The side that would even make Ivana and Elly tremble with fear. The Shinji that piloted EVA. So she assumed that Shinji could represent both light and dark. By the time she finished her thought, it was time to rinse the conditioner out of her hair. Once she was comfortable that her body was clean enough, she turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower. She grabbed the towel nearby and began drying herself off.
Once she wrapped the towel around herself, she went into the bedroom. She noticed Shinji was watching some English channel. And from the looks of things, he was having no luck understanding what was going on. She would need the whole room to get ready, so Shinji would have to leave.
"Sure, I'll go sit on the balcony until you're ready," he said. Shinji took his SDAT player and went out to the balcony to wait for the masterpiece that awaited him in the hotel room.
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As Zack was getting ready, he took this time to ponder his thoughts. 'What's gonna happen now?' he thought to himself. 'Those "Black Angels" sound like the latest perversion to affect this world.'
When it came to EVA, Zack knew he would never the best of the best. He knew that title was reserved for Shinji whether Asuka liked it or not. Although he knew he wasn't the best, Zack knew that whenever he was to be called upon, the Canadian would fight to the best of his ability. Like with the EVA in space, he beat the EVA, but couldn't stop the satellite. Shinji had saved the day there. And then Zack and Asuka turned around and saved Shinji not long after.
Then his mind floated to another thought. Who the hell was his mother? Whoever she was, Zack would hold no grudge towards her. He just wanted to know who she was. An idea hit him like an N2 mine. He could ask NERV for help, because it seemed like they knew everything. They probably knew what his favourite food was and how many slices of pizza he had eaten.
As his mind continued to drift, he thought about Elly and how she was acting in the Sears store. 'What was that all about?' She had put on a show for him in the store, and seemed to enjoy his carefree attitude. 'Does she like me?' he thought. 'And how come this feels so weird? I thought I was used to this. But it feels foreign.'
The last thought in his mind was the real thought he was the most concerned about. 'What the hell was the time?'
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NERV HQ
Misato and Kaji were having a chat over a game of table tennis. It WAS Kaji who taught Misato everything she knew about table tennis. But Kaji was the better one. That didn't stop Misato, who decided to play sober to beat the badly shaven man. The two were so well skilled that they could speak and play yet not be distracted.
"So, what's this restaurant like?" she asked.
"It's a great restaurant. Excellent food. There's even a dance party afterwards. We could even dance again like we used to so long ago."
Misato smiled. "I don't know what it is about you. A part of me can't stand your very existence. But at the same time, when you were dead I felt like I had destroyed a part of myself." 'Dammit! He scored again!'
"Well it's my serve," Kaji replied. As he served the ball over the net, he continued to speak. "We don't need to worry about what happened in the past. Let's just face the future together. Those kids are going to need all the support they can get to face this new threat." He scored another point. "Game to me. We should go get ready now."
"Yeah. I'll see you there."
"Oh, there will be a limo to pick you and the kids up," said Kaji. "And don't worry. The driver knows where to go." He left and gave a salute.
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While listening to his SDAT, Shinji enjoyed the cool night air. To him, it seemed better than the hot blazing sun they have had to deal with for the past few days. It had been an hour since Asuka wanted the whole room to herself so she could get ready for the dinner party. He knew Asuka would be wearing a red dress. The stumper was what would it look like? He checked his watch. They had 10 minutes to be downstairs.
"Yoohoo! Shinji! You can come back in now!" Asuka called out over the SDAT.
Shinji quickly came back inside. He looked and gasped. Asuka was appearing to be wearing a dress, but it only barely covered the bare necessities and it showed a lot of skin.
"Sooooooo, do you like it?"
Shinji had to react fast. "Y-Yeah. It looks great on you."
Asuka seemed to be happy. "Great! I knew you'd like it. I wore this one, just for you. Well, shall we get going?"
A/N: My ability to describe is about as good as the governing done by my country's government. Which is pretty bad. So if necessary, please use your imagination and you have my deepest apologies for any inconveniences.
So they got into the elevator. Being in the elevator reminded Shinji of what happened the last they were in the elevator together. But Asuka didn't kiss him this time.
"Hey Asuka. What's this place like?"
"Well for starters, it must be a place for high society people. Or for anyone with a fat wallet. So that means it must be a good place overall."
Once the elevator hit the main floor, the two found the others waiting for him. When suddenly, Asuka shrieked.
"What is it Asuka?" asked Shinji.
Asuka pointed at Elly. "That beach bum is wearing the same type of dress as me!"
"On the contrary," started Elly. "That psychobitch is wearing the same dress as me!"
"WHAT? Why I oughta…" Asuka was prepared to rip Elly and her skimpy dress to shreds. Elly was ready to do the same.
"C'mon Psychobitch! Come and get me!"
Asuka would have, but Shinji and Zack had to hold her back, whereas Misato held back Elly, even though she put up no resistance, whereas it took all of Shinji and Zack's strength to hold back Asuka. Ivana, Rei, and Toji just watched this drama unfold from the sidelines. Not long afterwards, the limousine came to get the group. So the EVA children, and the still surprisingly sober guardian got in and the chauffer drove off to the restaurant.
After ten minutes of driving, the crew arrived at this restaurant. With translation from Elly, the restaurant was identified as the Heart of Sydney. Once they entered, they could easily see that this restaurant was definitely for the high society. Misato went to the waiter and told him they were with Mr. Ryouji. Once the waiter found out that a Mr. Kaji Ryouji had made a reservation for a table with ten people.
Kaji noticed them all, particularly Shinji and Asuka, who happened to be holding hands. "Well, all of you girls are looking lovely this evening," he bluntly said. Everyone took his or her seats. Kaji decided to continue talking. "Excited about this evening?"
Everyone else said so. Kaji glared at Shinji next. "So, Shinji. Are you taking good care of Asuka?"
Asuka decided she would interject on Shinji's behalf. "Actually, it's more me taking care of him, but there are those few moments where he can take care of me."
Kaji seemed happy with the response. "Wow, Shinji. I'm impressed. So I guess the last step is soon make her Asuka Langley Ikari!"
Misato then smacked the man across the back of the head. "Didn't I tell you a long time ago to cut that out?"
Zack backed up Kaji. "Yeah, I'm gonna be the best man at their wedding. And Rei offered to be the bridesmaid."
This got both guys laughing until Kaji received a slap from Misato and Zack getting a slap from Asuka. Both men shut up.
"Hey Asuka, can Ivana and I be bridesmaids as well?" asked Elly with mock innocence.
Luckily the waiter showed up otherwise something else may have occurred. After food and drink orders were made with Zack, Kaji, Elly, and Ivana making all necessary translations, everything seemed set and everyone seemingly just forgot about what they were talking about earlier. Now the talk was about Ivana's beach brawl.
"And I punched the last boy between the eyes," said Ivana. "I still don't think the fools knew what hit them."
"Wow Ivana," said Misato. "You're braver than most of the men I know. You're a natural warrior."
"I was the pride of Russia," she replied. "On another note Zack, how's that shark bite you got the other day?"
"Oh it wasn't that bad," replied Zack. "However, I bled enough in the water to attract enough sharks to close off the entire beach for the day. Seems like I'm always causing trouble."
They then proceeded to talk about what courses they planned to take during the coming high school year when the waiter came by. "I have something to tell you. A man will be at your table very shortly. He knows you very well apparently."
It was less than shortly. More like immediately. The man who was to join them turned out to be Gendo Ikari! He took the empty seat.
"Father? What are you doing here in Australia?" asked Shinji.
"I came to inform you that because of the threat of the Black Angels, that your vacation will have to be cut short. Also, I came here to acquire the documents necessary to receive custody of the Seventh Child."
"What?" said Misato. "Elly's coming to Japan?"
"That is correct," replied the Supreme Commander.
"Mein gott. Elly at our house…" mumbled Asuka.
"That is incorrect," said Gendo. "The Seventh Child will be living directly at NERV Headquarters, because of… past incidents."
Elly was not pleased to have one of the best times she had ever had, be used against her. Just then, dinner had arrived. Surprisingly, Gendo had a dinner plate too. It was amazing to see what kind of strings the Commander could pull.
The food was fantastic, but very expensive. Everyone shared conversation. Gendo kept rather quiet though. Once the bill came in, Gendo paid for the whole thing and then excused himself so he could go to NERV HQ in Sydney.
The reason for coming personally was so that he could avoid the risk of someone seeing potentially classified information being sent over the Internet.
"Your father is an odd one Shinji," said Misato after the Commander had left.
"You think so?"
Misato gave him a shrug. "Well yeah. Ever since the dunk tank he's been well… not so cold."
Suddenly, the manager came on stage and announced that the music would start and the dance would begin in five minutes. Everyone was encouraged to find a partner. Shinji knew what this would mean. Asuka would drag him onto the dance and force him to dance under the threat of torture, or something along the line of very bad things that could happen to him.
"Oooooohhhh Shinji!" called out Asuka. "Be a good boy and escort me to the dance floor.
Shinji didn't want to be tortured, scorned, or be called "Baka". So he took her arm, and they went off to the dance floor.
As Shinji looked around the floor, he saw the others as well. The never-to-be-understood couple of Misato and Kaji were paired up. Zack paired up with Elly.
Ivana and Toji were also in a dance. Toji was afraid at first, but Ivana assured him that they were just going to be two people enjoying themselves and nothing further.
The first song was a slow one. Everyone slowly moved to the music, finding comfort with the person they had in each other's arms. It was about five minutes, when the song ended. Some people decided to trade dancing partners. Elly paired up with Toji, as it seemed the boy was gaining some confidence. Ivana chose to sit the next one out. And Zack offered a dance with Rei as he did not want to leave her out. Asuka wouldn't let Shinji leave the floor. Shinji didn't even try resisting. Misato decided not to leave Kaji either. It seemed both Shinji and Kaji were only going to have one partner that night.
This piece was shorter than the last one. The musicians announced a quick three-minute break would be had before the next one.
Shinji decided to take a minute to speak with Rei.
"Uh, Ayanami?"
"What is it?"
There was something about Rei that made her difficult to talk to. But Shinji would try. "You were good out there on the floor."
"That was good?" she asked.
"Yeah. Great for someone who doesn't dance that often."
"I see. Then I guess you are also good."
Shinji had an embarrassed look. "Not really. Zack taught me a few moves and I'm surprised at how good I can be when Asuka makes me dance."
"You shouldn't put yourself down like that. One can realize abilities far beyond what they can do when they simply try to be the best they can be."
Shinji was shocked by the advice Rei was giving him. "Thanks Ayanami. I'll put that advice to good use. Asuka's calling me."
"Your welcome Ikari. Watch out for her and yourself. You're more important to her than you know."
After a quick "Thanks", Shinji went back to Asuka.
"What were you talking with Wondergirl about?" asked Asuka.
"Oh I was just telling her how good she was on the dance floor," replied Shinji.
"Oh so you were staring at her the entire time?"
"No. And I could say the same to you about Kaji!"
This got them both laughing. The German seemed rather cheerful this evening. Asuka spoke up once more. "Well, we are having one more song and then we leave back for the hotel. So says Misato."
"Then let's make this one a dance to remember!" said Shinji.
"Hmm, I like it when the Invincible Shinji gets balls," replied Asuka. "I'll keep you to that."
And so, they returned to the dance floor. The song the musicians were playing was piano/guitar version of a song called Cruel Angel's Thesis.
A/N: I am bad. So bad. And I disclaim the ownership of this song. But does anyone know where I can buy a share for Gainax, or a company that owns this series so I can say I own it somewhat?
Asuka and Shinji were a pair. Kaji was still stuck with Misato. Ivana, Rei, and Toji decided to watch from the sidelines. Elly went back with Casanova, saying something about him being more fun than Toji was.
And so the lights dimmed and the music began. If one was to look at these two, the Japanese boy and the German girl, although they were not yet adults, they appeared to be made for each other. This was apparent in their eyes and in their movements as they flowed around the floor butter being spread on smooth white bread.
As the two continued to dance, just like at the Tokyo-3 ball, the spotlight was once again, upon our favourite couple. Shinji and Asuka didn't even notice as they were totally shut off from the rest of the world as they looked into each others eyes as their waltz continued.
To the others, it was like magic. Sheer poetry in motion. Everyone stopped to watch the two. Gendo Ikari had made a quick stop to the bathroom to make a call to Fuyutski. When he came back, he saw the dance was on. But something caught his eye. It was his son, dancing with the Second Child.
Gendo could not but notice how magical the setting appeared to be. When he looked at Shinji, it reminded Gendo of himself, before the accident with Yui. The man he once was. The man he had hoped to be once again. The scene he was observing brought a tear to the cold man's eye. 'Just pure magic,' he thought.
Time seemed to stand still for the two EVA pilots dancing under the spotlight. As the song was nearing its ending, the two couldn't hold their emotions back anymore. For the moment, they didn't care if anyone was watching. The two lovers embraced and shared a loving kiss.
This brought cheers and clapping from the crowd and even the musicians. Shinji and Asuka snapped out of their reverie and noticed the crowd was cheering them on. Zack was cheering and not making any remarks. Same went with Elly. Misato was wiping tears from her eyes.
As Shinji looked at the crowd, he managed to notice one person he quickly recognized. It was his father! Gendo was clapping along with the audience. The man had more tears coming from his eyes. Shinji smiled at him too. Perhaps there was a chance for them to get along again.
As everyone prepared to go back to the hotel. Gendo took a moment to think about what he saw. It was true magic there that he saw on the floor. It reminded him of when he danced with Yui at a dance so long ago.
"Magic," he said aloud as he walked to his limo.
A/N: If I keep this vacation in Australia going any longer, the whole story might finish here as well. Jokes, jokes. Now it's back to Japan. Just to throw in something special, Shinji and Asuka have the power to hit a 500-sync almost at will in their EVAs. What special abilities do you suggest I give the others? Something or nothing? I have an idea for Rei, which I might reveal in the next chapter. And if I do reveal it, it would shock everyone, especially Shinji and Gendo. And I have an ability for Ivana as well. Also, during the battle against the Black Angels, expect other things on the sides in the future, such as a war against an old superpower. And a 7-part mini-saga with the enemy being someone who never saw the anime series.
I talk/write too much. Until 23, be cool!