Very Very Late Update, I had a very hard time these past few months. I'am really sorry! T_T anyway I'll try to update as soon as I can. So please continue to read an of course review! :D
3: 46 pm
The once blue clouds up in the sky were already turning into dark ones, signaling rainfall any minute now. Asuka looked outside whilst sitting lazily at the floor with a few scattered empty bags of chips lying around. She kept herself entertained most of the time, from trying to clean up the mess in the kitchen to taking care of the sick Shinji. But this time, nothing can save her from sheer boredom, even the weather wasn't at her side. With the threat of rain, she really can't do anything besides sit around all day.
She stared at the darkening sky, as if waiting for some kind of miracle to happen. And something did happen, it rained. Subtle raindrops falling softly down from the heavens, the graceful ensemble of the wind and water enticed her for a few moment.
After a few seconds, the mere dance of the rain and water turned to an aggressive exchange of blows, Asuka then decided to close the window and return to the kitchen to brew up something hot for the cold weather. She paced towards the kitchen, looking briefly at the room she passed by at the course of going to the kitchen.
I wonder if Shinji's alright, he turned quite red earlier when I checked his temperature, what a weirdo.
Even in her thoughts, Asuka just can't stop mocking Shinji, it must be in her blood. She heated up some water and proceeded to make herself some hot chocolate, but unfortunately she couldn't find any of the chocolate she needed. With the mug of water in her hand quickly getting cold, she was forced to just make some hot tea for herself. After several minutes of looking for some tea leaves, she then went back to the couch that held her abandoned bags of chips.
She nonchalantly pushed out everything in the couch to make room for her to lay down, various things dropped down from their safe haven, simply to crash down the floor and left abandoned. Asuka began sipping at her tea while looking at the ceiling, dazing out into the rhythmic sounds of the rain as it hits the cold roof. A few more moments of just staring into the open space before her, she placed the tea cup with all the abandoned mess.
Better get some rest before I take care of that idiot again.
Her thoughts circled around 'taking care of the idiot', 'what should I cook for dinner', and 'what sickness does Shinji actually have?'. But amongst all of these thoughts, one stood out the most "Is He going to be alright?"
She then mentally slapped herself for making room for such a thought. She doesn't have to be too concerned with that idiot. That idiot is not alone, no matter how much he thinks he is. He has friends he can count on, Misato to take good care for him, Ritsuko, Kaji, Wondergirl, and Gendo Ikari. He doesn't need someone like her, someone that'll only make his life worse.
"I don't have a place in his life, I'll always be alone" she said, barely a whisper but still echoed within her heart.
Asuka was lulled into slumber, as if to prevent more tears from her eyes and more sorrow in her heart. Slowly the windows to her soul began to close as she gently falls asleep.
"Move Toji!"
"Why do I have to move, you move Kensuke!"
"Half my shoulder's already wet! Dammit why the hell does it have rain today!"
"Why did the both of you forgot to bring your own umbrellas?"
Three voices echoed through the street, three students walking side by side in the torrent of rain. Toji, Kensuke and Hikari paced themselves hastily towards the apartment Misato rents. All three of them like canned sardines under one umbrella. Kensuke and Hikari never thought that there will be any rain today, so they didn't bother to bring their umbrellas. Toji on the other hand, by some bizarre reason brought his umbrella on a beautiful day earlier. The thought of it puzzled Hikari, making her question Toji about the matter.
"Hey Toji, how come you brought your umbrella today?" Hikari asked, though her voice was slightly muffled by the raging rain, Toji manage to hear her question.
"I-i just did, why the sudden question class rep?" Toji said, without looking at Hikari.
"I was just curious, nobody thought that it was going to rain today, and you happened to brought yours."
"Wait, are you saying that something's wrong with me just because I brought an umbrella on a sunny day?"
"No no no, rather I'm thankful for that, Thanks Toji." Hikari gave a reassuring smile at Toji.
Thank God for the rain Toji thought before saying, "I only brought my umbrella cause my sister has been reminding me all the time, nothing to be that thankful bout" Toji replied with his own shy smile.
"E-hem, can you both scoot over now that both of you are done flirting?" Kensuke said, his left side completely drenched by the rain.
"Were not flirting!"
"Were not flirting!"
Both of them said in unison, making them look at each other but only to look, away again to hide their blush. Kensuke on the other hand, manage to squeeze in to at least not let the bag he was carrying get wet. Seeing that the small umbrella really can't shield the three of them, Toji suggested something.
"H-how about we go to that cafe over there, just to let the rain pass" He managed to say at least without stammering too much. He kept thinking about being with the class rep inside a cafe, minus Kensuke of course.
All of them were on an agreement on this, the weather's just too harsh for them too keep going. After a few strides towards their destination, they found themselves in an almost empty cafe. They took a minute to survey the area, Toji looking at the well designed ceiling and Kensuke was staring at the well polished mahogany chairs and tables. Both were dazed at the ambiance the place let out, but were left wondering why no one was inside at the moment. Kensuke looked at Toji to find the answer, but Toji merely shrugged obviously oblivious to it as well.
"Hey! Hey! Toji! Aida! Come here both of you!" A sharp command by the class rep. Toji and Kensuke were snapped out of their dazed state as they heard the voice of Hikari. It seemed that when the both of them were busy contemplating at why the area was empty, the class rep was already near the counter trying to register them in.
"Let me just clarify ma'am, a table for three and those two over there are your companions I presume?" the man behind the counter said. He was wearing a simple yet eloquent butler suit, his hairstyle was that of a clean cut and his face was clear. His voice also added to the whole 'gentleman' aura, as it was soothing and respectful. Nothing compared to the two she was just with earlier.
"Yes those two over there walking towards here. Toji, Kensuke Hurry up!" replied the class rep. while trying to call on to her companions.
It took them less than 10 seconds to get where Hikari was standing.
"Hey isn't that Ayanami?" Kensuke said as he searched for their table. His tone a bit more excited than usual.
In the corner table by the transparent window that shows the scenery outside, a lone girl was sitting reading a book of some sort, with her drink beginning to cool down. Rei Ayanami averted her crimson eyes for a second to look at who ever mentioned her name, but after that one moment, she went back to read intently whatever that was occupying her mind. Kensuke on the other hand told Hikari and Toji what he just saw and proceeded to tell them (or beg them) to pick the table near her. Both of them seemed indifferent about the matter and only Kensuke being more excited than usual.
"What's the deal with you getting all excited over just that?" Toji questioned his almost giddy friend. But to no avail, Kensuke was already by the table when he managed to finish his sentence. Hikari's muffled laughter caught his attention as he turned to look at her in confusion.
"What's so funny class rep?" Toji asked, clearly confused as to why the class rep was laughing.
After a few moment of trying to make herself stop laughing Hikari managed to stop and answer Toji.
"Don't you see, clearly he has some kind of interest in her, and seeing that he has other interests besides guns, war machines, and army stuffs is kind of amusing and quite funny." Hikari said as they both walked towards the table near the wall of the cafe.
"Wait a minute, are you saying that Kensuke Aida likes Ayanami?" Toji said in a louder voice than usual, but not loud enough for Kensuke or Ayanami to hear. Hikari titled her head a little to the right with an obvious confused look before saying.
"Is it not obvious? Come on Toji, he stares at her inside the class room, asks Shinji-kun about anything he knows about her, and he gets so excited when he sees her, like he just saw a top secret machine the government uses to fight some kind of alien life form that'll try to begin the 3rd Impact."
Hkari got most of the things right, It's just that Toji never knew Kensuke was staring at Ayanami at class, cause he was staring at someone else instead. And about Shinji, yes he did ask Shinji about somethings about her, but it turns out that Shinji knowledge of her are quite limited, making him do all the research he can. And lastly Kensuke already saw the top secret government machine called the Evangelion. Well, Toji can't do anything but acknowledge the facts she just stated. Hell, at least he has someone he likes and that reassured Toji that Kensuke wasn't some gay guy that'll only stick with his Army fetish for life. Toji actually felt a bit happy about him liking Ayanami but at the same time he felt uneasy about it.
"Yeah, I guess so." the delayed reply of Toji while resuming his walk towards the table Kensuke now occupied. Hikari soon followed his lead. They both sat down, not exactly in juxtaposition, but with a single chair in between them. Beside Toji, Kensuke was busy talking to Ayanami or trying to at least, because the later isn't really responsive to his questions. Toji took a quick glance at the girl that's a good 2 meters away from him and noticed that she was taking a look at what drink to order. In a second, Toji too picked up the menu to look at what kind of drinks they offer.
Café Au Lait
White Chocolate Mocha
Turtle Mocha
Coffee
Espresso
Latte
Vanilla Latte
Caramel Latte
Cappuccino
Café Bianco
Hot Chocolate
Hot tea
"I guess I'll just go with some Cappuccino, what about you Class rep.?"
"Me? well It's kind of hard to pick but I guess I'll try some Caramel Latte and maybe some red velvet cake to go with my drink"
"Red Velvet Cake huh, good choice, how about you Kens- " Toji stopped mid sentence when he noticed that Kensuke isn't really paying attention. Thinking his friend isn't going to order, he then motioned for the waiter to get their orders. The rain still raged outside as both Toji and Hikari stared at the rain drenched scenery outside. Rain. There's always something in every droplet of rain that hits the cold ground, whether it's a blessing for the plant trying to survive the harsh life it has, or a curse that aims to destroy the momentum of a beautiful day.
Humans are always fascinated by the forces of nature, whether it's being speechless at the face of a blazing fire, or the serene silence within the raging performance of the wind and rain. We stand at awe before these natural forces, knowing that those that are so beautiful are always beyond our reach. Such is the same with Rei Ayanami, her aura of mystery, her emotionless face, and sheer beauty she posses. Truly those that are beyond our reach are meant only to be gazed at, like the endless numbers of stars in the heavens, try as we might we can never be close enough to hold them. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try right?
"So Ayanami, how long have you been here?" Kensuke asked the girl sitting in front of him intently reading her book.
"..."
But the question was left unanswered and ignored, yet instead of dampening his spirit, Kensuke became more interested in asking several questions. Though it was like talking to a very beautiful statue, he never got tired of doing so, most of his questions were either ignored or replied with a single nod for approval or a slight shake of the head for disapproval or maybe a single word or two. There were some cases that actually sparked up some kind of conversation like:
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you always read books Ayanami?" Kensuke asked with genuine curiosity. He was expecting it to be ignored, so he was already thinking of another question for her, but instead he heard, or he thinks he heard something like,
"to escape...my cage" he wasn't really quite sure because he wasn't paying attention to the answer that came very softly.
Another question that really lit up some conversation was the subject of (guess who?) Shinji Ikari.
"Did you know that Shinki-kun is sick right now?" Started the conversation.
"Yes, Dr. Akagi told me that he was sick, she also told me that he'll recover if he gets some rest." A smooth and almost emotionless reply from the blue haired girl.
"I think he'll get well soon, Asuka's taking care of him anyway" Kensuke said carelessly.
But he heard no reply, only a single nod agreeing to what he just mentioned. But Ayanami's reaction deemed out of place, and thinking that he said something wrong he began apologizing to her.
"I'm sorry Ayanami"
"Why?"
"Because I think I said something wrong"
"I don't think you said something wrong"
Kensuke let out a sigh of relief, before looking again at the girl that resumed her reading of a book. He decided to observe her for a while, She bore the same emotionless face as she reads through her book, her soft and delicate hand holding and turning the page, her crimson eyes slightly moving from left to right as she progress through the book. She seemed very peaceful when she was reading her book, and it pained him to disrupt her, but it also pained him when he came to realize that the conversations they just had, didn't have any huge significance to her.
"uh...umm, Ayanami do you want to visit Shinji with us after the rain stops?" Kensuke managed to say after gathering enough courage. He secretly crossed his fingers hoping in her agreement.
"Yes, I was planning to check on him too" she said with a hint of worry and care, but stoic in her expressions nonetheless.
Kensuke was loss at words, he never thought that she'll agree to her. He merely nodded and started to ask another question that captured his attention from the start.
"Ayanami, what kind of book is that?"
"A Medical Book"
"Ah, I see"
for Shinji
Rain continued to pour outside, not stopping for anything, pushing ever forward. The droplets of rain continued to ravage the city, bringing with it a sense of coolness in to the city. Not noticing the warmth in everyone's heart. It seems that it will never let up, trapping the young boys and girls inside the cafe. And two boys don't mind at all to be trapped here forever if it means they can be with the ones they care for. But the rain will stop, and the sun will surely shine again.