Evangelion: Continuum
Chapter 3:When the walls crack
By: Daetor
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to this story or the characters, I'm just obsessed by it. I'm writing this because I want to and no other reasons, I'm not getting paid or anything. Gainax owns this stuff and they can sue me if they don't like what I did here.(Though I hope they don't)
A week had passed after Third Impact, on Earth everything was getting back to normal. The destruction of Tokyo-2 was covered up, it was stated that it was destroyed during Third Impact, no one believed it to be otherwise. SEELE pulled the strings of humanity to reach it's twisted goals once more, their initial plan might have failed, but that didn't mean that they were defeated. No, it just meant that they had to use more brutal maneuvers, still there was something on which they didn't plan.
A new enemy had appeared out of nowhere, and it ruined their plans twice all ready. Sanctuary... the word angered them, the sword with wings, the symbol of an enemy thought long dead, now had risen from it's ashes as threat greater than they imagined. It had denied them the keys to their plans and it had hidden them well. It was their fault as well and they knew it, but they would wait for now, and attempt to catch their enemy in the open. They had time and their enemy would have to make another move sooner or later, moment in which they would change things.
Meanwhile things were silent in Sanctuary, the people rescued from Tokyo-2 were given new homes and a chance to a new life, a better life. The same happened to those rescued directly from the LCL sea, the former NERV technicians and the JSSDF soldiers. Amongst them there were a few which were surprised to be alive, one was Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki, the second was non-other than agent Ryoji Kaji, both who had their own reasons to believe they were supposed to be dead. The first because he didn't think that anything could stop Third Impact once it started that way the second because he died before it began.
They had no idea why they were alive, but one man knew the answers, but for now he refused to give them to anyone. He awaited the final guest to this conference that had to take place, Shinji Ikari, who was still unconscious in his hospital bed. During this time, Asuka had been at Shinji's side as often as she could, coming to terms with her own feelings, especially after seeing some of his memories. She now knew that he loved her, and realized that she did to, but she was only half-aware of it. Accepting your own feelings was difficult, but after Third Impact she knew that things couldn't stay the same, she had to change, even if it was one step at a time.
In the mean time she got used to the area in which she now lived, met up with Hikari, Toji and even Kensuke, knowing that Shinji would need some time to get on his feet again once he would wake up. His friends would help and she needed Hikari's support more than ever. Though things were somewhat better, especially with Kaji returning from the dead so surprisingly. Misato was all over him not believing her eyes when John brought them together. He insisted that they lived in the same house as he did, the enormous villa could be home for three families and he barely made use of it.
He gave them the upmost room for 'strategic reasons' he answered when he was questioned, no one pressed the issue. Asuka got used to the house and she found it quite unusual, it wasn't obvious at first sight, but some things were missing. For example, on one particular day she discovered that it was quite cold outside, yet the large house was always warm and there were no trace of heaters anywhere. That and other details bothered her, why would that man have such a large house if he rarely spent time in it.
It seemed that there was a great mystery around the rather old but very young looking John. Still the local populace didn't seem to notice and they always greeted him with respect, the kind you show to someone who saved your life. Still when questioned no one would answer, everyone agreeing that if he didn't tell you himself, then it's better to wait until he did. Though a rumor did reach the new guests, John was also known as the Founder, what ever that meant...
--
Asuka made her way to the hospital yet again, no one reacted in any way to her passing on the street, but in the first day she had been watched curiously by some of the younger inhabitants. That's before even they were cautioned by others that it was impolite to stare at new arrivals and to leave her alone. It surprised her that she blended in so easily, but that wasn't important at the moment. If anyone had a problem with her she could solve it, no thug could take her on.
As always she went to Shinji's room, the receptionist never asked questions for some reasons, if you did have questions for her though, she answered them before you could ask them. It was one of those things that was out of place around here, like the fact that the town was completely different from anything she'd ever heard of before. There were no products from home, always completely different ones, which were usually much healthier or just tasted or felt better than the usual stuff.
Asuka didn't waste her time thinking about this detail for the moment, there would be enough time for that after Shinji woke up. Though it would probably be confusing for him, she had time to get used to this place, to understand herself and how she felt. Shinji on the other hand would wake up with Third Impact on his mind and it would be stupid to think that he wouldn't feel guilty for it, it was hard to admit it, but he WAS at the center of it all. Even if he rejected Instrumentality in the end, he wouldn't see things so well.
The Second Child knew all to well these things, because in the past week she had more insights on his mind. The nightmares from his distant past had been replaced by new ones involving her dead at most times. The scenes from them were real horrors, but she found a way to drive them away, she could somehow shove away his nightmares by placing her palm over his forehead and focusing on warmth. She would then feel her palm becoming warm and she could feel him relax in his sleep, whenever that happened she relaxed as well. Shinji was important, despite all the curses and bad language the German girl abused him with, he had always been important to her. It only took the end and rebirth of the world for her to realize that, fact which made her feel stupid.
As before Shinji was sleeping peacefully, he didn't have any nightmares yesterday and Asuka hoped he wouldn't have any today either. Maybe he would wake up today, maybe, but there was something else she could try. It was logical enough to assume that if she could reach his mind and see his dreams even influence them then maybe she could send a message to him. With each passing day Sarah was more worried about his chances of recovering from the coma, Asuka wasn't going to let that happen, not when she was finally able to admit to herself that she was wrong about him.
So she sat near his bed and placed her palm over his forehead then began to focus. Again she felt the familiar sensation of warmth in her palm, but she focused even harder this time. Obviously she didn't know what would happen or what she would say to Shinji, but if this worked, at least he would wake up. They could deal with the rest after that.
After a few minutes Shinji suddenly rose with his eyes wide open looking around in shock, his gaze landed upon the redheaded girl who seemed to be fighting with a migraine all of a sudden."Asuka? Is that you? Where am I?"he asked looking around again realizing that he was in some sort of hospital, but it seemed more pleasant than any hospital he'd seen before.
"Yeah, it's me, good morning, you've been sleeping for a week..." she said waiting for the words to sink in before saying anything else."A week?" Shinji asked in disbelief, he felt too good to have been unconscious that long, he didn't feel tired or dizzy as he was used to be. Not to mention that his body wasn't aching or complaining because of the movement, he should have been stiff as a board after this long. Adding to that he didn't have any needles in his arms which usually delivered the contents of some IV bag in his blood, he didn't even feel hungry. If possible he felt better than before, maybe even stronger, but he couldn't quite place the sensation.
"What's this?" Shinji asked looking at something tied to his left wrist, it seemed to be pulsing and it felt warm."That? That's what these people use instead of IV bags, instead of fluids in your blood that thing delivers raw energy in your body. From what the good doctor was wiling to tell me, that thing is a miniature S2 engine."
"A miniature S2?!"Shinji asked with a shocked expression on his face."That's impossible, they were barely able to put them in Eva's, how did they manage to make one so small?"The boy stops suddenly and looks at the girl near his bed, wondering why she was there, that and where there was for that matter, to say the least his mind wasn't a place anyone would want to be in at the moment."I'm being stupid..."he muttered.
"It's ok, you were probably expecting to wake up on a beach all alone with a large beast howling somewhere..."Asuka trailed of when she realized that she unconsciously told him the beginning of one of his nightmares from his coma."H-how did you know..." Shinji said with a shocked expression on his face the nightmare having replayed many times in his mind, he hadn't forgotten it, still the fact that Asuka seemed to now about it was all too shocking. He wished that she could understand him some more in the past but he didn't imagine that she would be able to retell his nightmares one day.
"I have to tell you something Shinji... you're probably going to hate me afterwards, but it's your mind and you have to know..."she was cut of by him "I'd never hate you Asuka...I couldn't..."
"You might reconsider after this..."she said giving him a guilty look."Let me say this and don't interrupt me until I'm finished ok?"After seeing the boy nod she continued."It started right after that thing attacked us on the beach, I saw flashes, memories from your mind and I found out a lot of things. I... know about your past, about your mother and Unit-01, how your father left you when you needed him the most, I felt what you felt back then and more... I.. I've seen what happened during the 15th and then what happened with Kaworu, I know about Rei, but above all that...I know that..."
"I love you."Shinji said with a surprising amount of confidence in his voice."Yes..."Asuka replied, somewhat surprised, she realized that her shock must be evident on her face because the boy started laughing."What?" she asked somewhat annoyed."Nothing it's just that you said that you knew and yet you were so shocked..."
"Well...I'd never thought that you'd actually say it to me, especially knowing how intimidated you felt around me."She said."I'm done running away Asuka, and I wasn't going to wait for the Fourth Impact to tell you this. I love you and I doubt anything will change that, I don't mind the fact that you know about my past, I think it's better than trying to stutter an explanation about it, I don't have your confidence, it will probably take me a long time to get comfortable talking about that."
"Aren't you afraid that I might hurt you?" Asuka asked."I'm afraid, yes, but I'll still stand by you no matter what you say to me or how much you try to drive me away. I rejected Instrumentality, knowing all to well that it would lead to pain again, but I understand now, pain is a part of life. Plus I understand what my mother said to me"
"That anywhere can be Heaven as long as you have the will to live."The red-head finished for him, Shinji simply nodded then smiled."You drove the nightmares away..."He stopped waiting for a reaction from the girl."Yes, you could tell?" The boy looked up at her, staring in her eyes before speaking."Yes I could tell, I could feel you to some extent. Thanks... for being there for me."
"I...I thought I lost you for awhile, I didn't know what to do, things changed so suddenly, you have no idea what's been going on, but..."
"I know."Shinji said with a low voice and a determined look in his eyes."There's a war out there and we have no idea what's going on. Kaworu or Adam or whoever he really was explained enough for me to get that. I have his power now, as impossible as it may seem, but I'm sure that I used it to stop that thing, my
own AT field... There's more to AT fields that just plain shields... what worries ne is that you've been pulled into this as well, you have Lilith's power, that's how you were able to contact my mind... it makes sense if you look at it, but why us..."
"Great, so we're stuck over our heads in who knows what mess because those two decided they could go and die while leaving all of their problems on our heads... just brilliant!" Asuka fumed at the thought.
"Maybe..."Shinji stated in low voice."Anyway, let's forget about that for now. We've had enough fights to last us for a life time. I want to get out of here, but, before that I want to know what happened outside, did anyone return? You've been awake this week, so, could you please fill me in, please Asuka, I have to know."
"Ok, it's a long story though..."Asuka replied before telling him what happened during the last week. She started with how John saved the two of them on the beach, then took them to this place called Sanctuary, which for all they knew wasn't exactly on Earth. Then she told him how the next day refugees began to arrive and amongst them was Toji, who had all his limbs back, Kensuke, who started thinking that war isn't such a good thing after all, Hikari who was now officially Toji's girlfriend, thought which made the red-head nauseous and caused Shinji to chuckle a bit. Then she told him how John brought in Misato on the very next day and how she came practically clinging to Kaji, who was all too happy with the arrangement. John, told them that they rescued everyone from the remains of the Geo-front before they could drown in the LCL sea that formed in the hole. Apparently the LCL was breathable to some extent at that time so that's why people actually survived. She then told him how everyone was relocated in Sanctuary and she began explaining about this place which was so unusual. It took two hours to finish, time in which Shinji simply nodded from time to time while listening intently.
"So that's it, this all so confusing, but at least we'll get some explanations soon, or at least that's what John said, that he'll wait until you're awake."Asuka said, slightly out of breath."Thank God..."Shinji muttered, then said "So I didn't exactly kill everyone... they came back, just like mother said they would. I guess I shouldn't have doubted her... Asuka? About Instrumentality... did you get to see you mother as well?"
"Huh? Oh yea, but I was a bit overwhelmed to actually talk to her as myself. You probably had the strongest sense of self at that time. The rest of us were pretty much taken by surprise in that situation. Don't blame yourself for it, if I would have been more understanding, Third Impact might not have started at all..."
"Let's forget about it for now." Shinji said."We'll have to deal with all of this again when that John will explain everything, somehow I know he'll explain all we need to know, maybe a lot more..."
"Yea, I think so too."She replied.
"Now all we have to do is burry our past and move forward, we have to let go of the past, the fact that you know about mine actually makes it easier. Would you... want to talk about yours? I think it will help." Shinji said looking Asuka in the eyes, she didn't see pity in those eyes, only love and that inner strength he seemed to display only for her.
"Ok, I think it's only fair, I saw most of your past, you have the right to know about mine. Plus... I think that you might actually understand me since our pasts are so similar..." Then she began telling him, how her mother lost her mind after a contact experiment with Unit-02, how she later committed suicide after ignoring her and replacing her with a doll. She told him how her father remarried right after her mother's death as if it meant nothing to him, how she swore to never cry again.
After that they continued talking about what happened in their lives, truly realizing how similar they actually were, how they were, opposite sides of the same coin. Both of them had thought that they were worthless, but had opposite approaches to the problem. It was incredible how similar their lives truly were, even their fathers were similar, uncaring bastards, for once both of them found someone who could understand the other trough each other. They talked all morning until the afternoon, at about 3 o'clock they were done, for now, there were still many issues left in their respective pasts, but they knew that now they had someone who could understand and who cared.
"You know... there's still something I haven't apologized for."Asuka said.
"You don't have to apologize for anything, I told you, I love you and I've already forgiven you." Shinji said.
Then Asuka leaned in as if she wanted to whisper something into his ear, but then she tilted her head and began kissing him on the lips. Shinji was taken by surprise but began kissing back, loosing himself in the kiss, feeling her smell, tasting her lips. It seemed to last forever and then it was over and she was looking him in the eyes."You know what? I think I love you too." Asuka whispered.
"That.. that was... incredible." Shinji said.
"Yea... where did you learn to kiss like that?" She asked.
"Misato, with her adult kiss, you know in the elevator, I thought you saw that one as well." Shinji said.
"Oh, right I remember now, I didn't really think about that one, I was pretty much shocked when I saw it."She replied."You should get changed, look at the time, we stayed to much around here. I'll go talk to the nurses and get your release papers. Then I'll show you the town, trust me you have to see this place."
"I'm looking forward to it."Shinji said, honestly smiling.
--
A few minutes later both Shinji and Asuka came out trough the hospital entrance and Asuka lead Shinji trough town. The boy was amazed by this place to say the least, especially since there were seasons here and not the permanent summer which plagued Earth. It was doubtful that they were on the same planet, that or they were in a very large geo-front, one which supported weather changes in it's systems. This town wasn't a fortress like Tokyo-3, it was a normal town with people going about their business, it was awkward that they spoke Japanese, and even German as Asuka noticed during her stay here.
They walked trough the entire town, and no one bothered the young couple, some people actually seemed happy to see them, but they never stopped to talk. Shinji, like the red-head which was holding his right arm noticed that something was out of place around here. Unlike her he realized much faster what that was, he could feel it. Every native of this place seemed to have an AT field, a USABLE one. These people probably used them in day to day life, those AT fields weren't exactly strong compared to Eva's for example, but they were usable.
"These people use AT fields." Shinji said while they were walking away from town, the German girl having decided that they walked around town for long enough and that they should get back home and let Misato and Kaji in on the big news.
"What do you mean?"
"That's what's going on."Shinji said. "These people can use AT fields, and they use them in day to day life. Of course they don't have anything near what we have, but they can still do some things. I can feel those fields, probably a side effect from receiving that power."
"That would make sense, it would also explain why they seem so different from normal people. With such an advantage their society must have become quite different from that back home, it would explain some strange details I saw, like some jewels with perfect cuts, no tool can make cuts like that, but you can't say the same about an AT field." Asuka pinpointed. "Well that's home."
"Wow, we're going to live there? Is that man insane? That house is enormous!"Shinji said looking at the large villa.
"I have no idea, but who cares, at least we don't have fight for the bathroom in the morning, there's one on each floor."Asuka said as they entered the house. She then showed him around the house and as they looked around they found a note on the kitchen table:
Out with Kaji, don't wait up, we'll visit Shinji in the morning. Love Misato
"Well I guess some things never change."Shinji said as Asuka rolled her eyes."Wait till she finds out that you're out of the hospital, she'll probably put you back in with her hug. She nearly killed me when she first saw me."
Shinji laughed."It's good to know that she's the same old Misato. It's good to know that she finally gets along with Kaji."
"I'm more happy that we can get along." She said starting another kiss, longer than the first one, forgetting about the world around them and about any problems in it. They were lost again in their own world. When in was over she collapsed in his arms, yet to her surprise Shinji held her as if she didn't weigh anymore than a feather.
"I could get used to this..." Asuka said letting Shinji support all of her weight."When did you get taller than me? And how come you're so strong?"The boy thought about it for awhile but couldn't reach an answer, the change was pretty sudden, it must have happened during the last week, while he was unconscious. Then he decided to try something, with the slightest of movements he picked Asuka up and cradled her in his arms before she could say anything.
"Come on, I'll take you to your room, you're tired and you need to rest. Waking me up and spending all the day like this must have taken it's toll on you." Shinji said as he went up the stairs, he took Asuka to her room and laid her in her bed, he left after one final kiss and went to his own room. It was right next to hers and like hers it already had clothes in the closet and other essentials.
So Shinji changed in some pajamas and tried to go to sleep.
--
It was 2 in the morning and Shinji was still awake in his bed staring at his ceiling, he didn't feel tired at all, at least not physically, but his mind was requesting a break. Still, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened during the day and what happened before that. He understood that he had all of the power the first angel had within himself now. He also understood that it was an enormous power, but there was one problem, he didn't really know how to use it. The boy decided to try something, he concentrated on the sensation of expanding an AT field, just like in Unit-01, he tried to make a small field in his palm.
Surely enough, a blue octagonal field appeared above his palm, Shinji then changed the size of the field until it covered the whole ceiling and the room was flooded by a blue light. He then tried something he didn't think about in Unit-01, he tried to bend the field, which changed it's shape accordingly to his thoughts. So the field could be folded like a paper, it wasn't much, but that meant that you could create shapes with it like origami. Maybe there was more about these fields than Shinji had imagined, or anyone involved with the Eva's for that fact.
Then he heard crying sounds, it came from really close and the boy knew that the only person close enough to hear crying was Asuka. He didn't wonder why or how and decided to go to her, he had promised to be there for her. So he got out of his room and entered her room after discreetly knocking on the door. The girl was sleeping, but she was crying because of something she was dreaming. It was obvious that while she was able to drive away his nightmares, she couldn't do the same with her own.
Shinji went to her bed and began stroking her hair while whispering in her ear. Asuka began to calm down a bit but then she got a hold of Shinji's hand and wouldn't let go. There's no way I could get free without waking her up, so I might as well make myself comfortable here, it's going to be a long night. Shinji thought to himself as he laid on the side of the bed and to his surprise he finally fell asleep.
--
Asuka woke up next morning after a surprisingly good night, ever since that first night she had always slept like hell because of awful nightmares. The first thing she noticed was that she was hearing a rhythmic beating which was hypnotic, it sounded just like a heart beat, but it was a different sensation from the one you have when you hear your own heart beat or the recording of others. It didn't take long for her mind to realize where she was or what she was sleeping on, better said who.
Asuka was sleeping with her head on Shinji's chest and she had her arms wrapped around him holding him in a tight embrace, while he had his right arm around her waist and his left one on her right shoulder. If this would have happened 2 weeks ago before Third Impact, Shinji would have been in a life or death situation, now though the red-head was content to watching him sleep with a serene smile on his face and considered that she could go back to sleep herself. That was before noticing the figure near the bed which seemed to be waiting for something.
She looked up and saw John standing there, but his expression was completely unexpected, she had expected worry, disappointment or something like that. So she wasn't expecting the calm happy expression on his face as if he was sincerely happy with what was going on. It was one of those rare moments in life when Asuka Langley Sohryu was at a loss of words, John didn't fail to notice this so he decided to speak first.
"Morning, did you sleep well?"He asked without a teasing tone.
"Surprisingly well, but what are you doing in my room?" Asuka asked."I thought you were the polite kind of person that waited until you got permission."
"Normally I am, but today I had to drop by to tell you two some things. Do you think it's safe to wake him up? Or should we wait until he wakes up on his own?" John asked."You see I'm in a bit of a hurry so we should get this over with."
"Ok, I'll wake him up, wait a second." The girl said then turned to Shinji."Shinji, wake up, it's morning."
"Ok, ok Asuka..."The boy replied slowly opening his eyes and seeing the position he was in, then the fact that they had an audience."Good morning Asuka." He said then yawned, not really knowing what to make of the situation.
"I'm sorry to disturb you two like this but I have a lot of work today in preparation for tomorrow. So I'll get to the first reasons of my visit."John said with a calm tone and continued with a slightly amused one."You should make sure that Misato or Kaji don't find out about this, otherwise the discussions arising from this combined with the teasing will kill you. Now I know that nothing happened and I have no objections against you two sleeping in the same bed as long as nothing happens, that or you get married and it's not my business anymore. I hope I'm perfectly clear with this."
Both teens nodded, slightly blushing at the idea of marriage, though it would be a lie to say that they weren't considering it. John was truly happy for the two, he knew all to well what they have been trough and he knew that they deserved to be happy and he was going to ensure that they would be happy. Of course, many choices would be left to them, but he could still make a difference in this situation. At the moment all three remained silent, thinking about what just happened and what had been said.
"Ok, now I doubt that either of those two will be awake in the next two or three hours."John continued."Oh, and to prevent them from finding out, use the balcony to move between rooms. That and lock the doors to your rooms from the inside, ruffle your respective beds so they look slept in and there's no way to find out."He chuckled and then switched to a serious tone. "Now starting with tomorrow, most of the refugees will be given orientation courses so that they can find their place in Sanctuary. I'll bring you two and a few others to a special meeting and I'll explain what I know and why that creature attacked you two a week ago. Also, I have no objections against practicing to use the light of the soul, or AT fields as you call it. I'll give you a hint those things can generate or absorb heat, so you can cook real well with them, amongst other things. Just don't hurt anyone and don't strain yourselves, you don't have any real experience with them and if you overdo it, you can kill yourself."
"So you're saying that we can both generate AT fields?"Asuka asked slightly surprised, but judging by the recent experiences, she knew it wasn't impossible, she was just unable to make the connection between an AT field and scanning someone's memories.
"Yes you can both use the light of the soul. The name AT field is just so inappropriate if you ask me. You'll see why in time, I'll teach you both how to use your powers and some useful details about them, but more on that tomorrow. Enjoy your day and you could even celebrate tonight, maybe I'll be there as well. See you later you two."John finished then left closing the door behind him. The two looked at the door as if checking to see if he was coming back then kissed.
"Now that's what I call a good morning call." Asuka said after breaking the kiss."So should we get up or should we sleep some more?"
"I'm ready to wake up." Shinji said."I hope you're not mad at me."Instead of answering Asuka kissed him again."Why should I be mad at you? Some things never change..., but then you wouldn't be Shinji, my sweet, invincible, idiot Shinji."
With that said they both got up and went to separate bathrooms to take a shower.
--
Twenty minutes later Shinji was all ready in the kitchen, trying to prepare breakfast, bacon and eggs sounded nice for the moment since the kitchen seemed to have products more adequate for a western meal. That wasn't to surprising since Asuka had been living in the house for a week, and even Shinji realized that John wasn't exactly a Japanese name, it sounded English to him. Though he was in store for a surprise when he began to read the labels of different products in the fridge or in various cupboards.
It was normal stuff that you'd find in just about any kitchen, that was not what surprised him. He was surprised by the fact that he could read those labels even though they were written in a language he had never studied before. Sure the letters were normal, but he did notice that the language was unknown, or
at least it should have been. Shinji just shrugged it of and decided that he would ask John about it in their meeting tomorrow, this was a free day and he was going to enjoy it.
He wasn't surprised to find what looked like beer cans in the fridge. They weren't what Misato usually drank, but it was obvious that she enjoyed this foreign beer just as much since the fridge had enough of it. Shinji decided to try out what John suggested, even if the idea of cooking by using an AT field never occurred to him before, why not try it? So Shinji extended the field just as he did the night before, then he shaped it as he desired, forming a pan large enough to cook breakfast for him, Asuka, Misato and Kaji all at once.
It took him less than 3 minutes to start radiating the necessary heat from the field and he was soon cooking without any utensils, using the ingredients themselves. He couldn't believe how easy it was for him to manipulate the field, he just had to think and the field would behave as his thoughts commanded. So in a few minutes breakfast was ready and on it's respective plates. As soon as he laid the final plate a pair of arms came from behind wrapping themselves around his waist. At first he tensed at the touch but then realizing who the owner of the arms was he turned in the embrace and found himself gazing at a pair of bright blue eyes.
"Hey, breakfast's ready." He said, finally managing to break away from her eyes and the spell they placed him under. "I already saw that, that was one impressive way to cook breakfast, when did you learn to do that?"
"I tried stuff like that last night." Shinji said."Also John's suggestion sounded fun, but it did leave me a little dizzy."Before he could say anything else Asuka kissed him again pulling him closer, Shinji was absolutely drunk after breaking the kiss."You know it would have been a lot better if we were able to do this from the beginning."
"Yea, the days would have gone a lot better if we realized that we were like this earlier." The German girl replied."Let's eat before Misato comes in and starts drinking while making out with Kaji, it really ruins your appetite."
The two of them were soon seated near each other and eating. Shinji noticed that the food tasted better than he was expecting it to. It was either related to the new conditions or the food itself was better than what he used to cook back in Tokyo-3.
They didn't even eat half of their breakfast when a very sleepy Kaji entered the kitchen. He paid no attention to the two and made himself coffee. Meanwhile the two children chuckled at the situation and Asuka couldn't wait to see his face when he realized what was out of place. Finally he set himself at the table before a plate and took a sip from his mug.
"Morning Asuka, morning Shinji.."
"Morning." The teens replied in unison, one of the after effects of their sync training.
"Morning Shinji?!" Kaji repeated with a shocked tone after spiting a mouth full of coffee over the table."When did you get back?"
"Yesterday." Shinji said."When Asuka brought me home you and Misato were out, I guess we fell asleep before you got back."
"We haven't even noticed..."The man said looking incredulously at Shinji as if he might disappear any second now."How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, no actually I'm better than before." The boy honestly replied."Though I'm in a less awkward situation than you are. Everyone knew for sure that you were dead, so it must be pretty weird for you."
"Are you sure that you're Shinji Ikari?" Kaji asked.
"What do you mean am I Shinji Ikari? Of course I am who else could I be?" The boy asked confused by the strange and seemingly serious question.
"I'm not so sure, you seem too confident to be him. The Shinji I knew wouldn't speak about something so serious without stuttering even once. Not to mention that you don't look scared or depressed, which is fairly strange, not to mention that you're a bit taller than you should be and you don't look as skinny as you're supposed to be."
"The old Shinji died in Third Impact." Shinji calmly stated."I'm done with running away, I promised I wouldn't and I've found a reason to live." He turned and kissed Asuka on the cheek while putting his left arm around her shoulders. "I still have a long way to go, but I'm not going to be the same person that killed the whole world because he was afraid of pain."
Kaji was in a state of shock at the moment, he had seen the secrets at NERV, he had seen giant monsters piloted by children sent against other giant monsters, he even died and then somehow came back to life, but all that couldn't prepare him for the shock of what he had heard and seen right now. Shinji putting his arm around Asuka who proceeded to lean on him without even one insult, just after hearing the boy's statements.
The two teens observing the older man's reaction to their behavior started laughing. They stopped fairly quickly when Misato also entered the kitchen. She went straight to the fridge, looking like a zombie from a pathetic horror movie, she then proceeded to grab a beer sit on a chair near Kaji, then drink it in one gulp. After her trademark morning shout she gave Kaji a small peck on the cheek then noticed that he was staring at something.
She looked at the two teens and blinked a couple of times as if to check if they were truly there. Asuka was now leaning on Shinji who had his arms around her, they both seemed relaxed, but they were barely containing their laughter. Their guardian had a bewildered expression on her face as if she saw a ghost or a disturbing dream, then she looked at her beer. "I think I really should cut down on my drinking, I'm starting to see things."
"No, I'm seeing it too." Kaji said."So if you're seeing it and I'm seeing it, then it must be real."
"Would you two stop staring like idiots!?"Asuka suddenly said with her usual ranting tone."Mein Gott, you look like you've seen something walk out of a grave! Stop that and start eating!"
"Ok we now know for sure that she's Asuka Langley Sohryu. So that means he's really Shinji!"Misato said."My God Shinji when did you come here, why didn't you tell us anything? How come you haven't said anything yet?!"
"Because I was waiting for you to finish and you didn't give me a chance to talk." The boy replied."I got here yesterday. We haven't told you anything because you weren't home, and we were probably sound asleep by the time you came back."
"Ok, but that still doesn't explain what I'm seeing right now." Misato said.
"Well ,let's see, what do you see Misato?" Asuka asked.
"You do realize that you're in Shinji's arms right? The weak, cowardly and so on Shinji. Right?" Misato said trying to sort the mess in her head."Yeah, is there some law against it?" Asuka retorted."What's your problem Misato? Are you perhaps jealous? Or does the fact that I'm content and happy piss you of?! Well..." Asuka trailed of when she felt Shinji hold her a little tighter."Ah forget it... sorry I snapped at you." The German girl muttered before looking away.
"No I'm sorry Asuka, it's just that this is so unexpected, you always seemed ready to kill Shinji before, so you must understand that this comes as a shock. Shinji's new behavior isn't helping either, I mean look at him he's not even blushing!" Misato said.
"Whatever, I'm done eating." Asuka said then left from the table not before kissing Shinji on the cheek.
"I'm loosing my mind..." The purple haired woman said.
Shinji sighed looking at the two."You should try to get used to this since neither of us is going to back down. I don't know if you can understand this, but we're... I don't know soulmates I think. We're opposite sides of the same coin, now more than ever. We both need each other, that's how it is."
Shinji turned to leave, when he heard Kaji's voice."Do you love her?"
"More than anything in the world."Shinji replied before exiting the room.
--
The morning had begun in an awkward way, to say the least, but it progressed in a much more normal tone afterwards. Misato wasn't displeased by the change, quite the opposite, but for her it was sudden and it seemed impossible. Of course she had no idea about what happened during Instrumentality and afterwards, no one told her about what Shinji did after they had awoken or why. She had no way of knowing that Asuka saw so many of his memories or that she had conflicting feelings about him long before that tragic series of events. The boy, after a short discussion with the fiery red-head reached the conclusion that their guardian deserved an explanation, even though neither of them were truly willing to talk about what happened.
So they all gathered in the living room down stairs (the house had two living rooms, one down stairs and one at the first floor plus small bars at the second and third). It wasn't really Misato's business, it didn't matter what happened, but she wasn't this rational about it. She didn't want her two charges falling into a fake relationship that would hurt both of them, they had suffered enough all ready, she was partly to blame for that. Kaji on the other hand was well aware that Asuka was dead serious, otherwise she wouldn't get involved, she wasn't one to play games and she always tried to get what she wanted, he had personal experience about the last part.
"Ok, we'll explain this only once, so you better pay attention because I will definitely not repeat myself." Asuka said pushed forward by her temper."Yes, we love each other, yes this is sudden, but we both had feelings long before this happened. We just didn't understand each other well enough and we couldn't see how similar we really are. Third Impact changed that, we had a lot of insight at our minds and feelings and we were confronted with our own mistakes. Let's say that we've received some gifts, and mine gave me a rather big insight into Shinji's mind. I found out more than I should have, but it's for the better, even if I got to know him in an inappropriate way. After that, I truly could understand him, and I knew that he would understand me, because we are the same, just different sides of the same coin."
Asuka paused and squeezed Shinji's hand, he all ready knew that it was his turn."I never hated Asuka, I took all she threw at me because I all ready loved her, now it's much stronger. Then, I was using her for support, but now we support each other. I'm sure you're worried about this, but we'll be all right, we never wanted anything more in out entire life. She understands me and I understand her, no one else can do that because no one else has been through what we've been. Misato, you may have had our files, but those didn't tell everything about us, did you know for instance that both of our mothers were trapped in our respective Evas?"
Misato shook her head, this was definitely awkward, but what they said did make sense, and she knew from her own experience that the lack of understanding can make a relationship impossible."Sorry you two, this is just difficult to digest if you know what I mean. Then again, some good might come of this." She finished grinning mischievously.
"Don't you have anything better to do than try and tease us?"Asuka asked rolling her eyes.
"Not really, but I guess I could save it for later. Now I have a party to plan, we're going to celebrate Shinji's return and the fact that we survived Third Impact because Shinji rejected instrumentality." The boy groaned at the idea. "I guess we'll need more food. When will it start and how many people will you call?"
"Hmm at about nine I think, as for how many, well this house is pretty big, I'll see how many we'll fit inside." The purple headed woman finished while rubbing her palms together in excitement.
"You do realize that this is not your house right?" Shinji asked."Yea, but the man said that we could throw a party any time we wanted as long as he was invited as well." Misato replied.
"Well, I should go get some shopping done... Though I'll need some money for that" He grumbled.
"I'll handle that, John gave me a credit card, or at least that's what I think it is..." Asuka said as she got up and pulled him out of the couch."Come on lazy, I don't want to waste all day with this."
With that said the two teens rushed out the door leaving behind a pair of rather confused adults behind.
--
Toji Suzuhara had a happy life at the moment, he had a caring girlfriend, his sister was healthy and happy, he miraculously recovered from his rather permanent injuries, he was living safely. Still he was worried, one of his friends was in a coma in the hospital and there was no news about him so far, he had visited a couple of times and he was on his way with Hikari to do so again. He had other worries as well, the town in which he awoke after whatever happened, Third Impact apparently, had been destroyed, but a bunch of unknown military personnel rescued most of the people and offered them new homes or gave them the possibility to return back to Earth. They were in a place called Sanctuary and most had decided to stay, his family included. There was no news about what they'll be doing here though, and from what he could understand, this place didn't exactly offer you the same kind of school as back on Earth.
Still, he wasn't going to let these things get to him, especially since they've all been announced that they'll receive orientation courses starting the following day. The courses weren't given earlier to allow the refugees a chance to recover after the events that led to their rescue and to get used to the new environment. Those that lived before Second Impact were incredibly happy with the new turn of events, this place had seasons and they were currently experiencing a soft autumn.
"What's up Toji?" Hikari's voice brought the boy back to the real world from his train of thoughts. They were walking in a surprisingly empty street towards the hospital where they knew Shinji was held. The cold weather forced them to wear thicker clothes and they were also walking very close to one another, sharing a bit of body heat.
"I was just thinking about all that happened." He replied honestly, of all the people in the world, he knew that Hikari would listen to him.
"Don't worry about it to much. We'll be fine, I'm sure that Shinji will recover as well, he has to, otherwise I don't know what will happen to Asuka..." Hikari said concerned for her friend, she had seen Asuka in a pretty bad shape and she knew that she was worried for Shinji, though she had no way of knowing how bad it was.
"I dunno, though Shinji's probably better of without her." Toji said remembering Asuka's behavior all too well, though he would be able to get over it for Hikari, he couldn't just change in a few weeks. Their discussion was cut short when a laugh came from in front of them around the right corner and a voice soon followed, both of them realizing that it belonged to a certain German girl.
"I can't believe that no one was surprised when we put our stuff on an AT field then walked out the store dragging the stuff behind us. You're learning way too fast to use these things, though I shouldn't be too surprised, you were a natural pilot as well."The voice said coming closer. Both of them stopped, wondering about whoever she could be talking about in such a relaxed manner. She seemed happy, fact which made Toji slightly angry, thinking that she really didn't give a damn about Shinji.
They both failed to hear the response from the other person as the steps came closer and they would both see who she was talking to.
"Well you are my Invincible Shinji." Asuka said just as they rounded the corner and she kissed the before mentioned boy who didn't seem to have the slightest of problems. The two stopped for a moment during the kiss and when they broke they were surprised by the sight before them and both blushed. Before them stood a severely blushing Hikari and Toji who's jaw would have hit the pavement if it could go that low. The fact that there seemed to be a pile of groceries and other stuff floating on a blue light didn't exactly help the matters.
"Um, hi?" Shinji said looking at the two and slowly commanding the filed to put everything on the ground for the moment. Hikari fainted at that moment, the pressure of the events and the shock caused by what she had seen being to much for her. Toji snapped his jaw shut and held Hikari not really knowing what to do.
"Snap out of it stooge! Lay her down and let me check on her!"Asuka commanded snapping Toji out of his thoughts. He reluctantly complied, letting go of Hikari and allowing Asuka to check on her.
"Don't worry, she knows what she's doing."Shinji said seeing the concern on his friends face but not daring make eye contact.
"Meh, she just fainted, that or she's very tired. You haven't done anything to her, have you stooge?"The red-head said not turning to look at Toji.
"Shut up devil-gi..."He trailed of looking at Shinji's face, he never got a death glare from him before and he wasn't exactly prepared.
"Anyway, I'll wake her up and calm her a bit." Asuka said ignoring Toji and placing her right palm over her friend's forehead. A soft red light began radiating of the palm, a few seconds later Hikari opened her eyes, looking right at Asuka, realizing she had her head in the other girls lap and the rest of the body on the pavement."Asuka? I had the weirdest dream... I saw you and Shinji kissing and there was a blue light behind you..."
The German girl sighed."Hikari, you weren't dreaming, Shinji woke up yesterday, but since you don't have a phone yet I couldn't call to let you know. I kind of forgot about everything around me for awhile."
"Oh, and you were really kissing him? Since when?" Hikari asked, feeling surprisingly calm despite all of this.
"Since when I found out he's such a good kisser."Asuka stated slightly blushing.
"Hm, you said I was so, so." Shinji said.
Hikari got on her feet and went to Toji then both of them turned to look at Shinji and Asuka who were arm in arm. The red-head was leaning on Shinji resting her head on his right shoulder, the boy looked as if there was nothing unusual about this. Both of them noticed that Shinji was taller than he should be and that he wasn't as skinny as they remembered.
"Man, out of all the girls in the world, why her?! I'm telling you, you're playing with the daughter of Lucifer!" Toji said with a look on his face as if he was preparing for a funeral."Ahem, are you trying to imply something stooge?" Asuka growled at the boy who proceeded to take a couple of steps back knowing all too well what Asuka was capable of.
"Toji! How could you say something like that?!" Hikari asked."Sorry, bad habits die hard and this is well, unexpected to say the least."He replied.
"Oh grow up!" Asuka said."It's not like this is any of your business! So what do you care? Some friend you are to Shinji."
"Asuka, forget it." Shinji said."We both agreed that we'd try to let people get used to this. You have to admit that for them it's pretty weird."
"Yea, but that doesn't mean I have to be nice to him, you're the only boy with which I'm nice."She said, Shinji simply smiled.
"Ok, ok I'm sorry." Toji said."I had no idea, though I still think that this won't end well... Anyway Shinji, how've you been? Why didn't you visit me at the hospital?"
"I couldn't face you Toji, not after what I did... or better said didn't do..."Shinji replied.
"Aw, come on man, I didn't hold that against you. Now it doesn't even matter anymore. See? I mean I'm all right."Toji said."What did you think? That I wouldn't forgive you or something? You couldn't have known that your father would do that. If anyone is to blame he is!"
"I know that now, but then, I was just afraid, I thought that you have probably been in terrible pain because of that thing. I just didn't know what to do... I ran away... again."Shinji replied not looking at Toji.
"Listen man, the only pain I felt was when I woke up after the incident. I was unconscious the whole time when the battle took place. So I honestly have no idea of what happened during it except what I've been told. So forget about it, there's no point in being depressed about this, it's over and you know it. Now let's get going. Do you need any help with those?"
"No I can handle them."Shinji said and he extended the AT field under what they bought that day. Everything began to float at about 50 cm above the ground while Toji and Hikari stared wide eyed at the scene."Wow that's so cool, how can you do that?" Toji asked.
"It's a gift, from someone who was a true friend in the end. To cut a long story short, I have the power of the first angel and Asuka has the power of the second one and let's say that it's quite a power."Shinji explained."Why don't you two drop by with us? Misato will invite you to the party anyway so this way we'll solve some of her problems." Asuka said.
"Ok let's go."Hikari said deciding to drop the fact that what she saw was unusual and simply spend time with her friends. She had heard a lot about the two former Eva pilots, so she could get used to this.
The four teens left heading towards John's villa. All of them chattering about what had happened and wondering about the future and what it would hold for them.
--
It was soon time for the party, as expected it was out of control in about an hour after it started. Despite the size of the house it was pretty crowded since Misato had invited a lot of NERV personnel. A lot of people were eager to come since they didn't have a real reason to celebrate in a long time. Also, this party held another meaning, it told everyone that things really did begin again and that they had a real chance at a normal life this time, that NERV was done for and they were glad to forget about it.
True to his word John was back home at 9 o clock without any delay happy to take part at the celebrations. He was now willing to answer any questions, but no one wanted to ask any. This wasn't the time for mysteries and troubles, it was a time for celebration and everyone wanted to have fun.
Many questioning glances were thrown towards the former Second and Third Children since their fights back in the days of Eva were quite legendary. Actually there were many bets regarding those, some said that Asuka would eventual murder Shinji or push him to commit suicide, that or he would kill the red-head in her sleep. Obviously no one expected this to happen, except for two people: John and Sarah, who was invited because she had befriended Misato and Kaji during the time in which Shinji was in a coma, also she occasionally dropped by at John's house.
Though the party was a lot of fun, Shinji found himself retreating in the balcony near his room pretty quickly. Though he had changed enormously during these last few days, he wasn't going to get used to this kind of activity too soon. It was quieter here and he didn't have to explain himself to anyone either, not to mention that a lot of people seemed to remember him since during Instrumentality, everyone that was part of it knew that he stopped it and wanted to thank him for it. He never considered himself a hero for that fact, it was his fault that it started in the first place, so he didn't think he was worthy of praise.
"It must be pretty tiresome for you."Asuka's voice came from behind as he felt her arms encircle his waist."I was pretty sure I'd find you here."
"I'm just not used to this kind of things yet."He said."Also, I don't think those people should thank me... Instrumentality wouldn't have begun in the first place if it wasn't for me."
"Listen Shinji, you're more worthy of those thanks than you think, because things happened as they did a lot of people got cured of all sorts of diseases. Some people are actually even younger than they were before this happened. In the end it was a good thing that things turned out like this, especially since everyone has returned from what John said, even people that died before it began. So, you did the right thing." She said leaning her head against his shoulder, always speaking in a soft calm voice.
Shinji turned to her and looked in her eyes, he knew that he could trust her, that she would always tell him the truth and her words gave him confidence. The boy knew that she snooped around to get that information because he felt bad."You know, there's only one thing they don't know, I would have never rejected Instrumentality if it wasn't for you. So they should thank you for coming into my life, otherwise they'd still be stuck in there."
"You're so sappy!"She said playfully."I know but this time it's true and you know it."
"I know..."
The two teens remained silent in the balcony the party going on without them, they sat there in silence, no words were needed between them. They both knew that in a way or another this wasn't over, that tomorrow they'd find more questions despite the answers they were promised. All of that didn't matter since they had each other.
To be continued...
Well, here's the third chapter if you didn't read it already on evamade. I know it's a bit rushed and all (at least it seems like it now that I've re-read it), but bear through it since this is my first fic and I'm experimenting here. As always, I'd appreciate it if you would leave a review, since I like to know what my readers think. For those that reviewed, especially Kaliaila and Fifth Horseman, thanks a lot, your support means much to me.