Chapter 24 - That's Some Change
"We probably need to stop meeting like this."
"Mmph"
Shinji dolefully regarded his partner-in-sleeplessness, currently face down on the kitchen table and looking like she was trying to nap right there. Although, considering this was now the sixth night in the last couple of weeks that they had both been woken up by their dreams, he couldn't exactly begrudge her the effort.
"Think we should tell Misato about this?" Shinji mused, setting a glass of water down on the table next to Asuka before sitting across from her with his own glass.
His housemate and friend seemed disinclined to comment for a moment, remaining silent long enough that he began to think Asuka had managed to fall asleep already, but then she finally raised her head just enough to stare at him through the somehow-still-pretty mess of hair falling across her face.
"Tell her what, exactly?" she grumbled, shifting her arms underneath her chin. "That we're sometimes being being woken up by weird dreams?"
"Well..." Shinji scratched his head as he attempted to come up with an answer. The problem was, the dreams weren't... bad? ...Or so it seemed, as neither of them could remember much. If they at least had the decency of being memorable, it would go a long way towards explaining just why he and Asuka kept waking up like they were nightmares.
"Maybe Doctor Akagi could get us some sleeping pills or something?" he finally suggested. "I mean, it's certainly affecting our ability to get a good night's rest, and we are Eva pilots."
"I am not going to drug myself up for such a stupid thing!" Asuka growled, slapping her hands on the table as she rose to her feet. "I am not that weak, and neither are you!"
"Okay, okay." Shinji placatingly raised his hands, taken aback by the sharp response. "We should probably still tell them though at least, just so they don't think we're slacking off."
"Hmph. Akagi will probably think we're just making up excuses."
"Both of us? Coming to her and claiming the exact same problem? It's not like we're... um... what's that word for people who keep going to the doctor and saying they have an illness or whatever?"
"Hypochondriac," Asuka absently replied. "And no, we're not. Hell, we haven't even had a runny nose yet." She lifted her head up with a sigh, leaning back in her seat. "Fine, I suppose we'll tell them at the sync test today. But I'm reserving the right to say 'I told you so' if she ends up dismissing us."
XXX
"If my theory is correct," said Doctor Akagi, leaning forward in her office chair. "And I do hope I'm wrong, but if I'm correct, this is probably something you should have brought to our attention earlier."
Asuka and Shinji were now standing in the scientist's office after two sync tests. The first had been the standard fare, but once Shinji had spoken to Misato and Doctor Akagi about the dreams, they had ended up needing to sit around for another, even longer test while the bridge officers did... whatever it was they had done.
Asuka shot a glare sideways at Shinji, who decided he was thankful that he wasn't the 'I told you so' type. "Is it that serious?" he asked, once Asuka finally decided to look away.
Doctor Akagi let out a long breath. "Consider the fact that when you two are in the dual-sync entry plug, you begin synchronising with each other, even with all the safeguards in place." She paused for a moment as Asuka gave a little scoff. "This is something that we had never even expected when working on letting you two pilot together." She waved a hand at her computer. "I could get into the scientific stuff, but I'm sure you wouldn't be able to follow as well as she could."
Feeling a little hurt that Doctor Akagi didn't even bother to let him try to understand, Shinji slouched a bit.
"Every time you two get into the dual-sync plug together, your minds merge a little bit. Back in that first test, we noticed that you, Shinji, were mimicking Asuka even to the point of trying to shift hair out of your eyes. And your combined sync ratio was just continuing to climb as the test went on. Asuka, when we say those safeguards are there for your protection, we mean it."
"That still sounds like a problem though, if our minds are merging," Asuka interjected. "We're already dreaming and waking up in sync."
Doctor Akagi brightened up a little. "Well at least there is some good news. The safeguards are ensuring that the unintended merging is very slow. You'd have to spend hours at a time in the plug, or disable the safeguards, before there would be anything more noticeable than dreaming at the same time." She tapped a finger against her chin as her eyes drifted back to her computer monitor. "I would like to run another set of tests, but that would involve not using the dual sync plugs for a while to see if your minds return to normal during a prolonged period away from the entry plug." Her eyes darted back to the teenagers in front of her. "That's entirely up to you of course, but it would mean that you'd be back on the sidelines when the next Angel strikes, Shinji."
Shinji inhaled sharply. Being relegated back to uselessness, having to watch other people fight for their lives while he could have helped them? "No," he said. "We're Eva pilots. We've handled everything the Angels have thrown at us so far, we can handle this too."
Eyebrows raised at his response, Doctor Akagi gave him a look that almost seemed to say that she was impressed. "Funny. You opened your mouth, but I heard Asuka speaking just then."
"Uh..." Shinji glanced at Asuka, who simply raised her hands and shook her head.
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to talk to someone about this," she remarked. "I said I was fine with the dreams."
"What you said was that we're not weak enough to ask for drugs," Shinji retorted. He rubbed the back of his head. "Still, this is your decision as well. If you're fine with keeping things as they are, then I'm fine too."
"Oh for..." Asuka palmed her face, glowering at Shinji through her fingers. "What have I told you about that non-committal attitude? Make your decision."
His face reddening at the reprimand, Shinji looked back at Doctor Akagi. "We'll... continue as we are."
"Fair enough,"Doctor Akagi said with a shrug. "Just keep an eye out for any behaviours more severe than... synchronised wake-ups or whatever. Although... I suppose I should say that you need to keep an eye on each other for any strange behaviours."
"Like what?" Asuka asked, raising an eyebrow.
Doctor Akagi glanced sidelong at her, before smirking evilly. "Well, if you find Shinji with... feminine hygiene products, or if you start wearing his clothes, you might want to be concerned."
Both Shinji and Asuka's faces lit up red like tomatoes.
XXX
When Shinji and Asuka got home, no less confused than when they had left that morning, it was to another surprise in their living room. To be more precise, a surprise visitor.
A tall, literally flame-haired visitor in a business suit, admiring the giant tooth trophy.
Asuka recovered first. "Hello Bwynvienne. If you're wondering, the creature we took that from could have levelled this entire building with just a flick of its tail."
Bwynvienne turned around, greeting them with a smile. "It is good to see you again, Ms Soryu, Mr Ikari." She glanced over her shoulder at the tooth. "This tooth reminds me of my fourth mate," she said with a wry grin.
"...Fourth?" Shinji echoed.
"You're not some kind of maneater, are you?" Asuka warily asked.
"Hmm?" Bwynvienne, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, swiftly turned her attention back to them. "Maneater?"
"A... a femme fatale," said Asuka, saying something that sounded like English to Shinji's untrained ears. "Er... a female version of a womaniser."
Bwynvienne's eyes widened slightly in realisation, and she vigorously shook her head. "Aah. No, nothing like that. Marriage between Infernals isn't always a permanent thing, such as that contract you two inadvertently signed. For instance a new couple may only choose to be married for a hundred years to start off with, and when that time is up they can then choose to either sign a new marriage contract or simply part ways."
Shinji made a face. "That just sounds so... clinical. Like love doesn't even matter."
Asuka snorted in derision. "Ever heard of arranged marriages? Half the time one or both of the people to be wed have no say at all."
"We Infernals live very long lives," said Bwynvienne. "Rather like a human's lifespan compared to one of those... dog things you have here. Things change, people change over the course of centuries."
"How ol-" Shinji began to ask, before self-preservation instincts kicked in and his jaw forced itself shut. He then very carefully rephrased the question. "What's the average lifespan of an Infernal?"
Bwynvienne thought a moment. "A bit of a tricky question. Generally about several thousand of your years, but that depends on the type of Infernal."
"...Type?"
The woman with fiery hair gestured at herself. "Do you think every Infernal looks just like me? When I said that tooth reminded me of my fourth mate, I was not being hyperbolic."
Asuka caught on first. "Are you saying he was a giant... fish monster?!"
Bwynvienne grinned widely. "Fish monster, no. Giant, yes."
Shinji and Asuka stared incredulously at each other. Shinji put his hands up, signalling that he was absolutely not about to ask the next question.
"Anyway, I believe we've gotten rather off track," said Bwynvienne, thankfully changing the subject. "The Infernal Administration has looked into your case, and while I'm afraid we still cannot nullify the contract until the five year lock has expired, we have at least managed to work out just how the contract came to your world in the first place."
Shinji hummed in thought. "I'm going to guess that since you... since Infernals can apparently teleport easily, somebody came to Earth a while ago and... left an actual contract sitting around somewhere when they left?"
"That is... almost exactly what happened. Another Infernal did visit Earth," Bwynvienne confirmed, before raising a hand. "Before you say anything, they were an Infernal that looked something like me, so they could blend in easily. They were on vacation, fell in love-"
"Oh no," Asuka groaned, bringing up a hand to cover her face. "The two of them got married, the Infernal brought up the contract, and the idiot signed because they thought it was a cute, silly little thing."
"Exactly correct, Ms Soryu," Bwynvienne said with a despairing sigh. "And considering the lifespan difference between our species, a til-death-do-us-part contract like yours is practically the same as a 'starter' marriage contract. As far as we can tell though, they both did love each other, and they did trade souls equally. Unlike..."
"Unlike the idiot I am who gave his soul away for a snack," Shinji muttered.
Bwynvienne shrugged. "You read the contract, you agreed to the terms, you signed it. As far as the Infernal Administration is concerned, you only have yourself to blame."
"But I will be able to give him his soul back when the lock expires... right?" asked Asuka.
"Of course. You'll have the choice to either keep his soul or return it to him, and you may then enter into another contract if you so desire."
"No thanks," Asuka immediately replied. "All this contract stuff is too goddamn weird for me. Sure I've gotten stronger in my Eva because I have two souls, but..." She pointed at Shinji. "It came at the cost of making him weaker. He's a pilot, the same as me, and he is now essentially crippled. I want to be the best pilot through my own hard work! Not because of... of this damn contract!"
Bwynvienne stared at her for a moment. "All I can say to that is that you can only play the hand you are dealt in life. If you have a problem, you need to learn how to solve the problem, or work around it."
"I... suppose the dual-sync plan is basically working around it," Shinji mused. "I can pilot with you, and together we can take down the Angels and survive long enough to reach that five year expiry date things."
Asuka slumped slightly. "Yeah, I suppose so."
Bwynvienne nodded in satisfaction. "Very well, I must head off now. I have so many other clients to see to, you would not even believe it. Is there anything else before I leave?"
"Oh!"
"Yes there is!"
Both teenagers spoke at the same time. They glanced at each other, and Shinji gestured for Asuka to continue. "Does a soul contract between two people also affect their sense of taste? Shinji can only taste food that I prepare for him. Anything else tastes like..." She glanced sidelong at him with a little scowl. "Tastes like bland, apparently."
"Ah yes, a minor side effect of soul transferral between two people in a marriage contract," said Bwynvienne. "Their needs can only truly be satisfied by each other. If both of you had traded souls, you would only be able to enjoy food made by each other. And of course there's... other things..." She looked carefully at the two of them and grinned. "I'm pretty sure neither of you are old enough for that yet, but when you are... oh my!"
"Oh god!" Asuka exclaimed, her face turning red. "She's just as bad as Misato!"
"What about sleep?" Shinji interjected. "Do people under a soul contract get each other's dreams, and wake up at exactly the same time?"
It was rather surprising to see someone like Bwynvienne look confused. "Er... that, I..." She frowned. "I... can't say I've ever heard of that happening."
This time when Shinji and Asuka looked at each other, it was with expressions of utter bafflement. If the contract wasn't to blame for their odd sleep patterns, then what was?
"I'll ask around, but don't get your hopes up," said Bwynvienne. "If nothing else happens, and if I don't find anything about your sleep issue, I shall see you two again when the contract lock expires. Farewell for now."
In the time it took for Shinji and Asuka to blink, Bwynvienne vanished from their apartment. Silence filled the room for a solid minute as the two teenagers thought on what they had just learned.
"...Hey," said Shinji as realisation occurred. "We didn't get interrupted by Section Two this time."
Asuka looked up at him, then in the direction of their front door. Last time, Section Two had burst into their apartment, pointed guns at Bwynvienne, and had almost accidentally shot her in the head. After a moment, she went through the kitchen and opened the front door, peering outside. Two large men in black suits were patrolling along the hallway at that moment. She stared at them, and they glanced at her before returning their attention to their patrol.
"Hey you two," she called out, making them stop and give her their full attention. "Anything happen around here?"
The men looked at each other for a couple of seconds, then back to her. "Nothing to report, Ms Soryu. All's quiet."
"...Ah. Well then... must have been my imagination. Carry on."
"Ma'am."
Back in the apartment, Asuka shared what she'd found out with Shinji. "I guess this time she thought ahead and somehow... concealed her presence," she concluded.
"Last time, apparently the MAGI were able to detect her," said Shinji. "How is she able to block the sensors of something that can detect even hints of an Angel?"
Together, they turned and stared at where Bwynvienne had been standing.
Just what in the world was an Infernal?
XXX
It was yet another scorching hot day. School had just ended, and the heat seemed like it was trying to melt Shinji's shoes to the pavement. The lack of even a slight breeze meant that the air itself was practically cooking him alive. The time of day, and the fact that they were essentially walking towards the sun, meant that there was no shade to hide in. He was already tired thanks to P.E. class earlier that day -thankfully held in the gym rather than outdoors- and there was a dull throbbing ache in the back of his head, like somebody was insistently tapping his skull with a hammer.
Next to him, Asuka was almost stumbling along, arms hanging listlessly at her sides. "Fuck. This. Heat," she mumbled, repeating it in time with her plodding gait.
Shinji couldn't muster up the strength to turn his head towards her. All his energy was currently being devoted towards stubbornly putting one foot in front of the other. Hope began to stir in his chest as he realised they were coming up to a turn that would put a building between them and the sun, even if only for a short time. The two of them just barely made it around the corner, Asuka almost collapsing against the wall as she raised a hand to swipe the sweat off her brow.
"I have an idea," she said after a minute, staring across the street at nothing in particular. Shinji hummed in an interrogative manner, and she continued. "We get all four pilots into our Evas, we pick the Geofront up, and we move to Germany where it isn't so goddamn hot."
Shinji chuckled, leaning against the wall to the left of Asuka and rubbing his head where it was still pulsing with pain. He drew up what saliva he could to moisten his mouth and asked, between gasps of breath, "Where... would we put it... back down though? I doubt there's... anywhere big enough... to hold it."
Asuka tapped her chin in thought for a moment, before coming up with a solution. "Simple. We get that big blue diamond bastard, turn it into a drill, and dig the hole ourselves."
"And how would you cross the ocean in the first place?"
Scoffing derisively, Asuka replied, "Easy! We hitch a ride on the fish Angel and... wait..."
Shinji blinked. He hadn't been the one to ask that question. Leaning forward to peer around Asuka, he saw somebody he hadn't seen in quite a while. "...Mr. Kaji?"
"Kaji?!" Asuka perked up, looking around frantically before noticing the perpetually scruffy man on her right, having just stepped out of a shop. "Kaji!"
The heat apparently entirely forgotten, she practically skipped over to the man and threw her arms around his waist for a hug; an inexplicable pang of jealousy then proceeded to shoot through Shinji's chest.
"Hey, kiddos," Kaji said by way of greeting, patting Asuka's shoulder a few times before gently prising her off of him. "I just stopped by here to get some water. I take it by your totally reasonable plans that you're not appreciative of today's weather either?"
"Too exhausted... to give you a proper response... Mr. Kaji," Shinji panted, wincing as his headache grew more intense.
"Hmm." Kaji brushed past Asuka, moving up to Shinji and grabbing his wrist. Shinji tiredly looked on as the man pinched the skin on the back of his hand, frowning at whatever he saw before heading back towards the shop he had just come out of. "Back in a sec, kids."
Shinji blinked in puzzlement, staring at the back of his hand where he had been pinched. Before he had time to comment, Asuka was suddenly in front of him, repeating Kaji's actions. Still not understanding what was going on, he was rather confused when she growled in anger.
"I should have known you were lying at lunchtime," she muttered. "Now you're dehydrated as hell!"
"I wasn't lying though!" Shinji protested. "I really didn't feel thirsty when you said you were, so I gave you my water."
"Here." Kaji reappeared, holding out two bottles of water purchased from the shop. "I want both of you to drink these. Today's a hell of a scorcher."
Shinji reached out and took the proffered bottle, wrenching the cap off and practically pouring the water directly down his throat. Only then did Asuka finally stop scowling at him and start drinking as well.
"You kids want me to take you the rest of the way home?" Kaji offered once their bottles were empty, before gesturing at a maroon-coloured sports car parked nearby. "Or would you rather cook some more?"
"Oh yes please!" said Asuka, almost bouncing up and down. Her sudden attitude shift left Shinji's head spinning.
No wait, that was probably the dehydration.
"We'd appreciate that, Mr. Kaji," he added. "If it's not too far out of your way."
"I'm actually headed there myself," Kaji cheerfully replied with a shrug. "So it's no problem at all."
"Really?" Asuka's eyes lit up. "Are you finally coming to spend some time with m- with us?"
"Ehhh, not quite, Asuka." Kaji sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, unable to maintain eye contact with the girl. "Misato and I finally have some free time that lines up, so we'll be going out for drinks tonight."
Shinji frowned. The last time he had seen the two adults interact, if it could even be called that, Misato couldn't wait for Kaji to be gone from her sight. Now they were supposedly friendly enough to be going to a bar together? Adulthood seemed like such a confusing mess.
Asuka had apparently asked something while he was thinking, because Kaji replied, "I'd really like to bring you along too, but you're too young to drink in this country."
The disarming grin the scruffy man gave Asuka didn't seem to help, as she turned away and huffed, petulantly stomping a foot.
"Well anyway, come along you two. It's far too hot to be standing around out here."
That was something all three of them could agree on without question. Shinji clambered into the back seat while Asuka took the front. Kaji turned the key, the engine roared to life, and the air conditioner came on at full power.
"Oooohh my god," Asuka groaned in relief from the front passenger seat, sticking her face directly in front of one of the air vents, which sent some of her hair billowing out behind her. "Praise be to Willis Carrier, patron saint of cold air."
The drive was over far too soon, but thankfully it wouldn't be long before they would be back in their apartment. Kaji stopped at the door to Misato's apartment, giving them a farewell wave before pressing the buzzer. As Shinji waited for Asuka to unlock their own door, he saw the door to the other apartment open and a hand reach out to grab Kaji by the shirt. Shinji blinked, and the man was gone.
Yes, adulthood was truly strange.
Stepping into their own apartment, Shinji was puzzled yet again. This time, it was due to seeing Asuka putting her ear to the wall next to the fridge. She caught his stare and glared at him as he opened his mouth, putting a finger to her lips to signal silence. Shinji sighed and, as quietly as he could, opened the fridge to retrieve two cans of soda. Closing the fridge door, he was just in time to see Asuka huff and push herself away from the wall. He lamely offered up one of the cans, which was snatched from his hand as Asuka stomped off to the lounge room.
Come to think of it, teenagehood was rather odd as well, sometimes.
XXX
The next day was just as horrible temperature-wise. The apartment's air-conditioner, as good as it was, was barely managing to keep up with the heat-wave. After a restless night, Shinji was honestly considering pitching Asuka's maybe-not-so-insane idea to somebody at NERV if the weather didn't hurry up and improve. But as he and Asuka set out for school that morning, they saw something which brought them a modicum of hope: clouds could be seen far off in the distance. They both agreed that the change couldn't come soon enough.
Especially since the school's cooling system was having problems.
Shinji was practically sprawled out on his desk, his shirt sticking uncomfortably to the sweat on his back. Their teacher seemed immune to the weather, droning on about some centuries-old war that went on for thirty years, which simply made a lousy day worse. All around Room 2-A, students were trying to nap in their seats or chatting on their laptops. Even Rei, stoic in the face of an Angel attack, seemed to be suffering in the heat. From what he could see of her face, it was paler than usual, and somewhat sunken. The curtains had been drawn to try and block out the glaring sun, but it was a task they were ill-suited for, thin as they were.
Asuka was on her laptop as well, but a quick glance over her shoulder showed that she wasn't in one of the chat rooms. Whatever she was looking at, it wasn't in German or Japanese, so Shinji couldn't work out what it was. It didn't seem to be entertaining her much either, judging by how Asuka was slouched in her seat and occasionally sighing as she scrolled through lines of text.
To the great relief of the entire student body, the lunch bell chose that moment to ring, and only the intimidating presence of Class Representative Horaki prevented a stampeding rush to escape the classroom. The students of Class 2-A sheepishly shuffled past the glaring young lady, and were smart enough not to immediately charge down the corridor. Shinji, Asuka and Rei were the last ones to exit, joining up with Hikari, Toji and Kensuke to make the journey to the cafeteria together.
Ever since arriving at school that morning, Shinji had noticed that Toji seemed to have something on his mind. And now that they had some free time, he could finally give voice to whatever that was.
"Hey, uh... you pilot guys?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Can I ask you somethin' about NERV?"
Kensuke blinked and shrugged, handing the question off to the veteran pilots. Rei replied with, "Only if it does not compromise operational security."
Toji shook his head. "Nah nah, nothin' like that... I hope. Uhh..." He finally let his arm drop to his side. "Somethin's happened with my sister. Yesterday Hisae got taken out of Tokyo-3 General Hospital by NERV." Shinji noticed that while Asuka and Rei seemed to simply be puzzled by the news, Kensuke was suddenly looking rather shifty. "Any of you guys heard about why?"
"I am sorry," said Rei. "But I have not heard anything about that."
"Yeah, me neither," added Asuka, and Shinji shook his head. "Why, is there a problem with that?"
Toji shrugged. "I dunno, it just came outta nowhere! First I heard of it was when I went to visit and got told at the desk that she'd been moved out!"
Kensuke suddenly cleared his throat. "Uh, Toji? I... have something I need to tell you."
Toji stared at him for a moment. "...Wait til we sit down," he said as the group reached the double doors leading to the cafeteria. He pushed the door open and stared into the room for a few seconds, before taking a step back and letting the door close. "Ah... guess that ain't gonna happen."
A glance through the door's window told Shinji everything he needed to know. The cafeteria was so full that students were sitting on the floor.
"What do you expect?" Kensuke remarked with a despairing groan. "The air conditioning actually works properly in there."
"Well then let's just go in!" exclaimed Asuka. "Better than going back and getting slow-cooked in the classroom!"
Thankfully, there was still a little space left for their group. The girls sank down to the floor against the wall next to a vending machine, while the boys sat opposite them. The noise in the cafeteria was almost deafening; a cacophony of voices all talking over each other.
"So what were ya sayin'?" Toji asked of Kensuke, leaning towards him so that he wouldn't have to shout over the chattering students.
Kensuke glanced at him. "Huh? Oh, right." He cleared his throat again. "Um... Toji... I'm the reason your sister got transferred to NERV. And there's no need to worry, she's gonna be getting the best medical care in the world."
Toji, along with the others, stared at him in disbelief.
Asuka gave voice to the question everyone was thinking. "How the hell did you manage to do that?"
"Simple." Kensuke was actually starting to look rather proud of himself, now that the secret was out. "I made it a condition of my becoming a pilot."
The disbelief grew larger. Asuka's head reared back, Rei quirked an eyebrow, and Shinji opened and shut his mouth as he struggled to come up with a response. Hikari was the first one to get her mind moving again. "...Why?" She blushed slightly as attention was drawn to her. "I-I mean it's definitely a good thing! But... why did you make that a condition?"
Kensuke sighed, and related to them his reasoning of how NERV had screwed up -something Asuka vehemently agreed with- and needed to be held accountable. The disbelief turned into admiration, even if it was somewhat grudging on Asuka's part.
"Dude," Toji whispered, the word almost lost in the noise of the cafeteria. "I... ah, the hell with it." He swiftly wrapped his arms around Kensuke, patting him several times on the back. "Thanks bro," he mumbled. "You ain't got no idea how much this means to me."
"Of course I understand, man!" Kensuke replied, patting Toji's shoulder. "Why do you think I did it? I could have just asked them for money or something, but instead..." He trailed off as Toji let go of him.
"Yeah, I getcha. I probably woulda demanded they heal her if I'd been picked." Toji glanced at Shinji and Asuka for a moment, then roughly shook his head. "Anyway, can I ask a favour of you guys?"
Asuka folded her arms, glaring suspiciously back at him. "What kind of 'favour'?"
With a roll of his eyes, Toji replied, "Gee, whaddaya think, Red? I wanna get into NERV to see my sister!"
Asuka blinked, then relaxed her arms, looking at her fellow female pilot. "There shouldn't be any problem with that, right Wondergirl?"
"The hospital is a lower security area compared to much of the Geofront," Rei replied. "It should be no trouble to get Suzuhara permission, seeing as his relative is under NERV's care."
"Let's head there after school then," Shinji suggested. "The weather might still be lousy, but I'm sure Toji doesn't want to wait."
"Uh, yeah..." Hikari absently replied, staring at the far end of the cafeteria. "About that weather..."
"Huh?" Shinji looked over, to see that several of the students in the cafeteria were standing at the window looking outside. The light coming through was dimming rapidly. "Has that change finally come in?"
"Maybe..." Kensuke got to his feet, waving at the others to stay where they were. After a bit of manoeuvring through the crowded room he managed to reach the window, where he stared out at the sky for a few seconds before returning with a look of puzzlement on his face. "That's some change," he muttered.
"What do you mean?" asked Hikari.
"It's gone from a hot clear day to a sky full of dark clouds," replied Kensuke, casting a look over his shoulder at the window. "Like a storm's coming."
It was as if the universe itself had been waiting for those words; the instant they left Kensuke's mouth, four cellphones jingled in unison. Their owners stared at each other, grim expressions on their faces.
