"We're The Band"
Chapter 8: Flakes of All That I Want
Friday Afternoon, NERV Operations Conference Room
Three very bored children and three very bored bridge officers sat in NERV's break room – the room Misato had informally designated as the NERV Operations Conference room. To pass the time while they waited for the perpetually late Operations Director to have their first team meeting since Asuka, Rei, and Shinji had accepted commissions, each of them had found something to occupy themselves. Aoba and Hyuuga were playing cards. Maya was reading a technical research report. Asuka and Rei were alternately flipping back and forth between fashion and music magazines. Shinji idly strummed chords and rhythms on the acoustic guitar he brought home from school to do a little bit of practice.
The seconds dragged on seeming like months of forced incarceration to the small team.
"Rei," announced Asuka in an excited voice. "Isn't this the band with the girl for a bass player that you like? The one from America?" queried Asuka as she pointed to the article in the rock magazine complete with color glossies.
Scanning the page with a pilot's eye, "That's them, Pharitse. They're pretty cool. The article is right that they've been pretty hard to categorize, musically. They play lots of stuff pretty well and don't seem to have a dominant style yet, but they've only released the one album so far."
Taking the magazine back, Asuka continued to read. "Hey, this says they're on tour promoting their first album and that they're planning to open for someone here in Japan as part of their promotion. We should try and get tickets."
A dreamy look passed across Rei's face much to the shock and surprise of Aoba, Hyuuga, and Maya having not spent a lot of time around Rei recently. "Yeahhhhhh . . . that'd be too cool. I want to hear the bass player do that solo live . . . Asuka, do you think I could get one of the boys at school to take me to the concert on a date?"
This brought a choked gurgle from Maya as she tried to recover from having tea go down the wrong pipe. Aoba and Hyuuga's checkers game stalled as they tried to recover higher brain function.
Shinji, on the other hand, only looked up while continuing to strum the guitar. Figuring to tease Maya a little more, "Maya, do you think Misato would let Rei go on a date?"
A little taken aback at the turn of events, Maya could only stutter out a, "M-Maybe."
Asuka, always quick on the uptake, piled on, "Even a date to a concert? With boys and all their hormone-driven perverted thoughts?"
"Maybe."
The conversation had triggered a memory within Shinji and the chords and strumming on the guitar began to take on a more structured and familiar pattern. "Do you think we could hire a limo to take her to the concert?"
"uhh, maybe" replied a now sweating and confused Maya.
Before Asuka could heap even more confusion on Maya, Shinji actually sang the lyrics to the tune he had been playing,
It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means, no
Much to the amusement of everyone in the room. Life at NERV had definitely lightened up with the transition in leadership from Shinji's father to UN military command.
Asuka slid the magazine over to Rei pounced on it like a lioness on a gazelle. Looking over at Shinji, "Shinji, I'm bored."
Shinji immediately tensed remembering all of the other outcomes of that simple statement.
"Oh?"
"Is that all you can say? 'Oh?'"
"Um, sorry."
"That's you're whole vocabulary? 'Oh' and 'sorry'?" asked Asuka with an arched eyebrow.
Seeing that the conversation was rapidly headed downhill, Shinji did the only thing he could think of, "Do you want me to sing the rest of the song?"
"Pleeaase?" asked Asuka putting on her cute face, inwardly pleased at how easy it was to get what she wanted from Shinji.
Shaking his head, Shinji started back at the beginning of Jack Johnson's "Flake"
I know she said, it's alright
You can make it up next time
I know she knows, it's not right
There ain't no use in lying
Maybe she thinks I know something
Maybe, maybe she thinks it's fine
May she knows something I don't
I'm so, I'm so tired, I'm so tired of trying
Asuka had been watching Shinji's playing rather intently as this was one of the songs he was helping her learn. After the first verse, she just decided to enjoy the song and walked over behind his chair to wrap her arms around his neck.
It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means, no
So don't tell me, you might just let it go
And often times we're lazy
It seems to stand in my way
Cause no one, no not, no one
Likes to be let down
Maya blushed a little at the beginning of the last verse, but was rather entranced by the sight of Rei bobbing her head to the tune as she was reading the magazines. It reminded her of the contents of the report she was reading and she turned back a couple of pages.
I know she loves the sunrise
No longer sees it with her sleeping eyes
And I know that when she said, she's gonna try
Well, it might not work because of other ties and
I know she usually has some other ties
And I wouldn't wanna break 'em, nah, I wouldn't wanna break 'em
Maybe she'll help me to untie this, but
Until then well, I'm gonna have to lie to her
It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means, no
So don't tell me, you might just let it go
And often times we're lazy
It seems to stand in my way
Cause no one, no not, no one
Likes to be let down
It seems to me that maybe
It pretty much always means, no
So don't tell me, you might just let it go
Shinji began a little acoustic solo. It was a pretty low key solo with some interesting note bends on the fret board and a tasty lick or two, but nothing that was a high-speed technical challenge since it really wasn't that kind of tune.
The harder that you try baby, the further you'll fall
Even with all the money in the whole wide world
Please, please, please don't pass me
Please, please, please don't pass me
Please, please, please don't pass me by
Everything you know about me now, baby you gonna have to change
You goin' to call it, by a brand new name
Please, please, please don't drag me
Please, please, please don't drag me
Please, please, please don't drag me down
Just like your tree, down by the water, baby I shall not move
Even after all the silly things you do
Please, please, please don't drag me
Please, please, please don't drag me
Please, please, please don't drag me down
Shinji got a round of applause and whistles from the small group which now included Misato having made an entrance sometime during the tune. He gave a little head nod and raised one hand to return the hug from Asuka as she nibbled his ear.
"I hate to break up this little jam session, but we really do have business to accomplish," announced Misato as she sat down at the table. Shinji put his guitar away while Rei stashed the magazines back in her school bag. The group had all taken their seats as Misato pulled out a little pad with a bunch of notes on it.
"Current team assignments," Misato began in her 'no nonsense command voice' as everyone started taking notes. "We've been assigned a research project to assess the viability of using the Eva control system for purely mechanical vehicles. So, Maya, as research lead, we're going to need you to set up the project protocols. We'll probably want to start by establishing current performance levels in the old system. We'll need to look for a LCL replacement – probably synthetic. Those are the starting points, so I'll expect to see a research plan and schedule on Tuesday since we've been talking about this for a while. Aoba and Hyuuga are assigned to you as research assistants and then as strategy and tactics based on the capabilities we uncover. Rei, Shinji, and Asuka, the three of you are on research support. Based on this and some other items we're going to talk about, three of your five club periods are going to be here. Sorry about cutting into band practice, but you've gotta earn your keep."
Rei, Asuka, and Shinji merely nodded. They knew that the other shoe would drop sooner or later, but on the plus side, at least their military commitments would be more or less on a regular schedule – something that they had, unconsciously, been craving for a while.
"Moving on to the three of you, specifically," continued Misato looking at the Three Children. "I've notified your school that on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, your PE class is moved to the end of the day and you'll be leaving to have 'PE' here. For a variety of reasons, each of you will receive some individualized instruction while not supporting research. Common to all of you will be some counter-intelligence / counter-surveillance techniques. I want you to be very aware of your surroundings. As you know, there are still elements that would like to get hold of you for a variety of unsavory reasons. Specific training items are: Shinji, we have a Tai Chi teacher here to train you in wushu. It's a style that should work well for you and you need the discipline and hand-to-hand skills. Asuka, you are going to be working tactics with me. Rei, you will be going to the firing range to work on both pistol and rifle. These are all lower priority than research support, but I'm sure you'll get 'homework'."
All three children were a little taken aback by the latest round of assignments. Rei was pleased. She had developed an affinity for firearms and the prospect of continued use was the most appealing part. Shinji was more than a little apprehensive. Martial arts training seemed like a huge step to him and while he had made great personal strides in developing a spine, it really only manifested around the family and his close friends. Asuka, on the other had, had a complex series of reactions. She was delighted to be in the tactics and command area and happy that Shinji would have someone else pushing him to develop a spine, but she didn't necessarily like being separated from him and liked having to spend the large amount of time with Misato instead.
"Here are your debit cards and account statements. Don't go berserk with the money. You don't get another deposit until next month and we can't afford you guys drawing too much attention to yourselves by spending like drunken sailors."
"So, that about wraps it up." Looking at Maya, Aoba, and Hyuuga, "I'll let you guys get back to the command center. Rei, the medical staff wants another checkup. Asuka and Shinji, you have some free time. I'll be in my office. When Rei get's back from the medicos, we can go home." And with that, the little meeting was concluded.
Soon Shinji and Asuka found themselves alone in the break room. They could hear Misato on the phone in her office a couple of doors down the hall, but lacking anything meaningful to do, Shinji just got the guitar out again, and they sat down on the decrepit little couch that had been installed in the break room via a "midnight requisition".
Asuka had decided that she didn't want to be relegated to one end of the couch, so she sat down in Shinji's lap and forced him to maneuver the guitar around her as he began to play the same song he had been practicing before – oddly, Asuka couldn't recall the name. With a small sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder and gave his chest a little hug.
"Asuka-chan, that's a pretty heavy sigh for a Friday afternoon," ventured Shinji.
"Yeah . . . "
"You're not happy with the assignments? Why didn't you tell Misato during the meeting?"
"Well . . . it's not that I'm unhappy with them. I mean I like the idea of doing tactics and stuff, but I don't like not being able to spend my afternoons with you. I'm not really sure about having Misato teach me either. But, I do like the fact that you can now be like that guy we saw in that old movie . . . what's his name . . . Jet Li," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"W – w – who? Oh . . . well, that may take quite a while if ever. Besides, didn't those movies end badly for him? I don't know why I'm the only one who has to go to martial arts training," whined Shinji.
"Baka-kun, sometimes you can be sooooo slow. You're the one who typically ended up in hand to hand combat when we fought before. You haven't had any real training in hand to hand. You need to learn that, and it'll be good for your self discipline. I mean think about the assignments Misato gave. It's like we're a little combat team – Rei is weapons, you're close in fighting, and I'm tactical command. Didn't you get that?"
"Sort of, but I guess I didn't really believe it until you told me."
"That's because you need my guidance which is why I'm in command – the great Asuka Langley Soryu," teased Asuka, but her voice betrayed a hint of something else that Shinji picked up on over the notes of the strumming guitar.
"Asuka-chan, will you tell me now what's bothering you?" asked Shinji.
Asuka was silent for what seemed like an eternity, but just as Shinji was about to ask again, Asuka gave his neck a small kiss and settled back down to tell him. "I guess it's like the band. I just want to be with you and now, I can't. You'll be doing things without me. What if the sensei's a woman? She'll have you all to herself."
Shinji had a small smile at the admission of a little bit of jealousy and insecurity from Asuka understanding full well what it had taken her to admit that to him much less herself. Things definitely had progressed a long way from when they had first met, but they both still had their insecurities and they hadn't been together long enough to have addressed them in a long term way. In response to her admission, he nuzzled the top of her head with his nose and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. He heard her let out another little sigh.
"Sweetie," she asked in her little girl voice – the one she knew he couldn't refuse. "Would you sing me a song?"
The little gears inside of Shinji's head all meshed at once to power the tiny light bulb above his head. Asuka needed to be reassured of her place within his heart, and probably would continually need to be reassured, just like he needed reassurance from her, for the rest of their lives together.
"How about this one? It can be our song. The one that you can always know is for you and only you from me no matter where we are or who's playing it."
Shinji began to play, singing softly to Asuka ("All I Want is You" by U2).
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
Misato had hung up the phone and was reading the last report of the day when she heard Shinji's voice softly echoing down the hall. It was an odd juxtaposition of events as she was also reading the psychological evaluations of all three pilots as part of the normal "return to flight" assessments. The particular paragraph was mentioning the extreme interdependence of Asuka and Shinji – that one without the other would probably have nearly catastrophic psychological damage and would, in most scenarios, mentally cease to function rationally. Misato closed the report and leaned back in her chair thinking about what she had read while listening to Shinji's voice continue to echo down the hallway.
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold
Asuka turned to look at Shinji and absently ran her fingers through his hair before stroking the side of his face. She had begun to feel better. The little insecurity hunger had been fed, and she could see the commitment in his eyes. It was a strange, new feeling for her to be able to accept the unconditional love after having pushed so many people away, and now that she had it, she didn't want to lose it.
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
Cutting off the last verse of the song, her hand slipped behind Shinji's head and pulled his face to hers. Shinji let the guitar slide to the floor and wrapped her in an embrace and felt her warmth against him. Reluctantly ending the kiss, Asuka whispered, "How cliché. We have 'our' song."
Chuckling, Shinji could only respond, "Yeah, but we're living our life in a big cliché, aren't we? Besides, you're as much a hopeless romantic as I am."
Sliding off of Shinji to stand and stretch, "Bah, whatever. What's keeping everyone?"
Also standing to stretch and then making his way over to a drink machine, he selected an orange drink for himself and a cola one for Asuka. "You know the medical staff. They've always run at their own pace. Besides, with how often we've all been in that infirmary, it really doesn't pay to make them angry."
"Jeez, don't remind me. I hate hospitals," grumbled Asuka as she took a long drink of her soda.
Rei and Misato made their appearance in the break room with the announcement that it was time to go home.
Later That Evening – Katsuragi Residence
Misato had crashed in her room and her snores could be softly heard through the closed door by all three children who had gathered in Shinji's room. Rei lay sprawled on the floor amidst manga and music magazines. Asuka lay on Shinji's bed reading her latest manga obsession. Shinji had pulled his cello out and was reacquainting himself with this old friend. They looked like three normal teens enjoying some free time – something they didn't seem to get a lot of.
Shinji actually had started to play a version of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" on his cello – primarily just the main melodic passages – as a bit of an experiment. Asuka looked up intrigued by the melody. She was familiar enough with classical music to know that the melody would have to have been transcribed for cello, but here Shinji was doing it mostly by feel.
This was all interrupted by the "Fly Me to the Moon" ringtone of Shinji's cell.
Not even looking at the caller id, Shinji just answered "Moshi Moshi. I see. Who shall I say is calling? Well, I will see if she's free to take calls."
Turning to Asuka, "It's Hikari. Would you like to speak to her or should I just take a message?"
"Baka! Give me the phone." Retorted Asuka. Taking the phone from Hikari, Asuka adjourned to the living room only to come back minutes later.
"She said that she and Toji want to know if we want to grab dessert with them."
Rei raised her head from the pile of magazines and manga to give a sleepy look at Asuka, "Count me out. I'm just going to go to sleep."
"Shinji?"
"Sure. I'll go."
"Hikari? Shinji and I will meet you there in half an hour. Ok. Bye."
Rei had piled the magazines and manga back into their usual spot and adjourned to brush her teeth as Asuka and Shinji headed out into the evening bundled in their jackets.
Asuka had linked her arm in Shinji's and was using that arm to guide him along the bustling street. Stopping in a small shop serving dessert crepes, they burst through the door to nearly run down Toji and Hikari. Exchanging pleasantries or at least civilized greetings in the case of Toji and Asuka, the teens adjourned to a table with their desserts.
"What have you guys been doing on your date?" queried Asuka.
Blushing, Hikari quickly glanced at Toji before answering. "Um, we went for a walk in the park and watched the sunset."
"Toji! I didn't think you had that kind of sensitivity in you," teased Asuka causing Toji to, uncharacteristically, blush and stammer.
The conversation and banter continued and eventually came around to the band.
"So, what's our new name going to be?" prompted Hikari.
"The Devil and Her Demons," muttered Toji, still smarting from having to let the girls into the band.
"Can it," came an uncharacteristically heated reply from Shinji who obviously heard the comment generating a startled look from Hikari and a narrowing of the eyes from Asuka, neither of whom had heard the comment.
"But Shinji, it was just the brotherhood. We were fine. We didn't need any new members."
"That's not what we're talking about and you know it. We had this discussion Monday. I told you then, and I'm telling you now - stop it," continued Shinji his voice rising.
"Okay, calm down, you'll have a stroke. It just slipped out, alright?" replied Toji – more than a little surprised at the heated, short fuse response from Shinji.
"Well, this better not happen again."
"What are you two talking about?" wondered a confused Hikari. Asuka had a theory but decided to ask Shinji later.
"Nothing worth repeating," was Shinji's terse reply as he continued to stare at Toji.
"Band name?" offered Toji as he tried to change the subject.
They kicked around a bunch of names settling on a couple to talk over when the whole group got together. Nothing really sounded good and they needed some additional input. Conversation eventually wound down and curfew was fast approaching. The couples said good night and headed off into the streetlights.
Asuka and Shinji returned to a darkened apartment with only the light from the bathroom, conveniently left on by Rei, guiding them to their rooms.
As Shinji settled himself onto his bed having completed his nightly routine, he realized that his door had opened. Looking up, he was surprised to see Asuka carrying her blanket looking very sleepy.
"What's the matter Asuka?"
Without a response, Asuka closed the door and spread her blanket on top of Shinji's. Sliding in under the covers, she snuggled up close to him and whispered, "I'm cold." Just as the words registered on Shinji, her cold toes touched his leg.
"Waaah! Your toes are like ice," exclaimed Shinji. He wrapped the shivering girl in a soft embrace only to realize that she was already asleep. Chuckling softly to himself, he tried to relax while idly stroking Asuka's hair thinking about yet another tumultuous day coming to a close. Sleep took its time before claiming him.
Author's Parting Shots: Thanks to Pharitse for the Rei as bass player idea. For that, Pharitse gets to make a guest appearance as a band influence. Who knows? It may come up again :P. I hope it lived up to expectations. New band name next chapter. So, I think that's plenty of new, potential plot lines. I think I now need to actually deliver on some of them eep