Synchronicity, Part 2
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).
Many miles away, something crawls from the slime
At the bottom of a dark Scottish lake.
Synchronicity II
The Police
Tokyo-3
First Municipal Junior High School, Backyard
Before Class
"Did you hear that, Kensuke? Asuka this, Asuka that…"
"Yep, I don't know why Shinji treats her with kiddie gloves." Kensuke shrugged, while checking the list they had made during the weekend.
"Well, I guess he doesn't want any more troubles. He must like having a head over his shoulders."
"Can't argue with that. Anyway, now that the Devil and Blue are together most of the time, we have the chance for a lot of candid shots of both of them." He interrupted himself, to smile at a couple of first graders, who asked for pictures of the German pilot. "Oh, hi! Yes. We have several sets available. Here's the catalog. Plus we have some pics that are sold in randomized envelopes. And none of them are in the main catalog."
The boys had collected a nice amount of pictures of the foreign pilot. All taken with a telephoto lens. Neither was fool enough to put themselves in Asuka's reach.
"Cool!" said the taller kid. "I want a complete Asuka sports set. And give me three…. No, four randoms!"
"Sure, here you go. Thank you!" Money and pictures exchanged hands, and the two kids went their merry way. The taller kid was eagerly opening the envelopes. While the short kid shook his head.
"And me without any money…" he sighed.
"Where were we?" Kensuke put the money away in a pocket, while Toji examined a set of negatives against the light. "Asuka and Rei." Toji answered.
"Ah, yes. I think we should get some pics of Ayanami alone. Now that she's getting better with people, her popularity is going up."
Tokyo-3
First Municipal Junior High School, Class 2-A
Later, Before Class
"Hi, Shinji." Several girls bowed towards the young pilot as he entered the classroom.
"Oh, h-hi."
"I was wondering…" a tall girl hesitated before continuing, "Areyoufreeforlunchtoday?" she blurted in a continuous, unintelligible stream.
"What?" Shinji didn't get anything.
Right at that moment, Hikari entered the classroom, closely followed by Asuka and Rei. The girl who had tried to speak with Shinji blushed, excused herself, and ran to her desk; while the two female pilots bowed back at Shinji.
Shinji bowed to the new arrivals, "Hi. Are we still up for homework later, Hikari?" Asuka huffed, "I shouldn't have to do homework! College graduate, remember?"
"Yeah, I don't know why the Commander ordered you to come to school with us," Shinji replied, with a puzzled expression on his face. "Anyway, I'm glad we can ask you for help with the hard questions. You explain way better than the Sensei." This mollified Asuka a bit. At least the Third recognized her superior scholar capabilities.
Hikari put her schoolbag on her desk, "I will go for sure. I have a new recipe I'd like to try, and I got a nice and fresh tuna cut for Pen Pen."
"You are spoiling him." Shinji smiled, shaking his head.
Rei spoke then, with a barely noticeable eagerness in her voice. "Can I feed Pen Pen?"
"Don't see why not. Just give him some space until he gets used to you feeding him. And no sharp movements, I made that mistake the first time." The warm water penguin was very mellow for a genetically modified bird, but he wasn't so tamed that the old instincts didn't take over from time to time, especially with strangers.
GeoFront
NERV
Elevator to the Administrative Section.
"You know, Misato; being Shinji's guardian has done you a world of good." Kaji observed.
"Oh, yeah? And why is that?"
"You have matured a lot since we, um, parted ways." He looked down for a moment, before continuing, "I have been thinking a lot since we met again, Misato. I've had some hard realizations, and some regrets." he said, looking at her with sadness in his eyes.
"Regrets? You?" Misato adjusted the stack of folders and files she had on her hands.
Kaji caught one that had escaped her grip and took the bunch from her hands. "Yes. I've done many things I am not proud of, and didn't do several that I should have done. Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life." He looked resolutely at the ticking mechanism that marked the floors they were passing by.
"It's too late, Kaji. I have another life now."
"I know. Still, we can be friends, don't you think?" He looked at her, expectantly.
"For as long as you don't push for more, it's okay." She thought about it for a few seconds, and added, with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I've missed you too."
He smiled at her, not his seductive smile. It was a smile she had seen on his face only a few times. It was a more intimate smile. The one that was only for her when they had been together back in college. She smiled back at him. The silence between them was full of unsaid things, but neither wanted to break it. It was… comfortably warm.
She was about to say something, when the bell rang and the doors opened. "I'll see you later, Kaji." She said, and stepped out. She looked back for a second, seeing Kaji had bowed at her, still smiling. "Hopefully soon, Misato." and put the bunch of documents back on her hands. Their fingers touched for a second. She could have sworn she felt a spark jumping between them.
She waved awkwardly at him while the doors closed.
Misato walked back to her office, remembering the old times. The good times. When she hadn't felt so alone. Shinji and Asuka; and to a lesser extent, Rei, now filled her life in a way she hadn't thought even possible. Still, if she was honest to herself, she really missed Kaji.
"It seems he has grown up since then… I half expected he would try to seduce me…" she said, looking up, daydreaming for a moment. Then she stopped in her tracks and blinked slowly, her brow furrowed, "Waaaait a minute! He didn't try to seduce me!"
GeoFront
NERV
Gymnasium.
"OK. Another go at the punching bag." Asuka directed Shinji and Rei. There was a trainer next to the group, but the German pilot had taken over from her in just a few minutes. Now the woman was there only to correct a few routines and be sure none of the pilots hurt him or herself.
Shinji bounced from one foot to the other, mimicking a boxer. His first few punches at the bag had been clumsy and made Asuka facepalm several times. "Who trained you? Pen Pen can hit harder!"
Shinji punched the bag three times in rapid succession, "Actually." He panted between words, "I hadn't. Tried. Boxing!" He punched again.
"Nonono!" Asuka made him raise his left hand. "Guard up. Guard up!"
Shinji nodded, and did his best to keep up.
"Enough." Asuka handed him a faceguard, and put one herself, plus a protector over her chest area. "To the ring. Tsukino, you're referee."
Once on the ring, Asuka beat her hands against each other twice. "Ready, Third?" she put her guard up.
Shinji was a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, Asuka? Are you sure? I mean.."
"What? Are you implying anything?" she was bouncing too. "Just so you know it, I placed fifth in the amateur division in college. I know what I'm doing."
Tsukino added. "I have seen her train. It's you who are at a disadvantage, Mr. Ikari."
"Very well." He nodded. "No other way to learn, I guess."
Two and a half minutes later, Shinji was wobbling on his feet. He was sure he would have a lot of bruises tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Rei was watching the slaughter from the sidelines. Her mouth was a tight line, and her scarlet eyes tried to bore a hole in Asuka's face.
The bell rang, and both went to their corners. Rei wrapped Shinji's shoulders with a towel. "Why are you letting her hit you?"
"Letting her?" he looked at her, incredulous. "She's faster than me!"
"Then, why do you persist?"
"To learn. I didn't have much in training until after the Fourth Angel. And I need to get better if I want us to survive this war."
Rei nodded. Her annoyance dissipated. Shinji knew what he was doing. Still, it wasn't easy to watch the way Asuka hit him with barely a strike back.
After another round, Asuka called the fight over. "Okay, you need more training, but not as much as I feared. You sure can take a beating, Third. To the showers, and get some ointment to relieve the pain. I guarantee, your whole body will hurt tomorrow."
"Yes, coach!" Tsukino helped both fighters to take off their protection equipment, checking both were ok. Shinji wobbled as fast as he could to the showers.
"You know, Rei?" Asuka sat down next to Rei, wrapping a towel around her shoulders. "He really can take a beating. I have KO'd guys way bigger than him, but he barely staggers." She sipped water from a bottle.
"Is it really necessary to hit him that hard?"
"All the first round was me measuring him up, Rei; I'm pulling my punches. I don't want to break him. Who would make our lunches then?"
"I see. Then, I ask for a session tomorrow."
"Sure. We'll get you the equipment and make sure it fits right. You and I will spar a couple of rounds once I feel you can handle yourself. Any problem to spar with the Third later?"
"I'm not sure I can hit him. He has treated me nicely. He piloted against the Third Angel instead of me."
Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Really? You have to tell me all about that."
"What's your clearance level?"
"White Plus."
"There are a few details I cannot discuss. But I'll tell you what I can."
Asuka nodded, picked up her equipment, and both girls went to the showers.
Tokyo-3
Ayanami/Soryu Apartment
Later
"Ok, so, not only he hadn't had any previous training on any EVA Unit. The idiot didn't even want to pilot?" Asuka huffed, her nose up in the air, arms crossed in in outrage. It was beyond her understanding that there could be a single person in the world who wouldn't want to belong to the elite corps that Evangelion pilots belonged to. Aida may be a Stooge, but even he had that, admittedly unreachable, ambition! If only the Third Child showed a fraction of the enthusiasm Aida had when speaking about the Evangelions, his rising scores it wouldn't be so annoying. It seemed to Asuka he was just going through the motions; like he would prefer to do anything else, instead of basking in the glory that belonged to the piloting elite.
The redheaded pilot almost missed Rei's answer. "That is correct. He had no reason to want to pilot. He only did so to spare me from further injuries. Had I been uninjured, he wouldn't even have been present."
Asuka tapped her fingers together. "Wait. Why?"
"He had been living with his teacher, far from Tokyo-3."
Asuka furrowed her brow. "Not with his father?"
"Commander Ikari put Shinji under a teacher's care ten years ago. Their contact since has been minimal. Only in the anniversary of his mother's death, on her grave."
Asuka kept silent. "Then, why was he called... no, scratch that; it's obvious he was called to pilot in your place. Why did he came if he didn't want to pilot?"
"I am not sure. They talked at the EVA-01's cage before the launch, but I was in too much pain to pay close attention. Afterwards, I was heavily sedated and returned to the hospital."
Asuka nodded, then looked at Rei with horror on her face. "Wait, you were there? At the cages?"
"On a gurney." The answer was so flatly casual it chilled Asuka.
"Oh, god… Commander Ikari had you moved from the hospital to the cages?"
"Yes. Shinji was about to leave NERV. I was told later he was very angry at the Commander, and would leave. Seeing me hurt convinced him to stay and pilot EVA-01." Rei's eyes unfocused with memories. "Before he could take his decision, there was a localized quake, caused by the Third Angel. I fell from the gurney. Shinji helped me." She hesitated for a second, skipping the fact that Unit-01 had moved to protect both of them from the fall of a lamp. "He accepted to pilot then."
Rei continued, "I saw him again when he was released from the hospital, after the Third Angel battle. I was being moved to another room, and we saw each other in the way. He seemed… sad."
"Did he try to… um.. grab your goodies? Back in the cage, I mean."
Rei tilted her head, "I don't understand. I had nothing with me but part of a plugsuit. I had been recently injured, and the doctors cut the sleeves off to put the I.V. needles in my arms."
Asuka waved her hands awkwardly, "You know, your… or your…"
Rei didn't know what the redhead pilot meant. so she explained factually, "He only touched my shoulders and my upper back."
Asuka sighed. "But if you're able to pilot again, why doesn't he go back if he hates piloting?"
"I don't know his reasons. That is a question only he could answer. He expressed several times that he disliked piloting Unit-01."
"Not anymore?"
"No. He stopped saying so after the Fourth Angel. Captain Katsuragi thinks he found his purpose in the brig."
"What do you think?"
"I have not thought much about it. What matters is that his performance has improved steadily since he started. It might be a combination of self-realization, plus absorbing the data he collects about the metahumans."
"That's a weird hobby. We were babies when they disappeared, for goodness sake." Asuka laid on the couch, putting up her feet on a pile of pillows.
"It has been an interesting experience for me. I think I know him a little better since the first time he invited me along."
"You are weird, First."
"I know. I'll try to do better."
Asuka threw a pillow at her. As it fell from her face, Rei asked. "Did I say something wrong?"
Asuka grabbed another pillow from the stack she had on the couch. "No, you dummy! It's called a 'pillow fight', it's just for fun." Seeing her puzzled expression, Asuka added. "It's a game."
Rei took the pillow, looking at the Second child. "I see. What are the rules?"
Asuka hesitated, the Third Child's warning had been spot on. Rei's social interactions knowledge was very short... "Weeelll… There are no set rules. Basically, we just either throw pillows at each other, or use them to hit each other. Like this." She demonstrated the process on the couch.
"How do you know who wins?" Rei was evaluating the pillow on her hands.
"Ah… you got me there, First; there is no set winner. We don't try to actually hurt each other, we stop when the other asks, and we get a good laugh out of it."
"Understood. Like this?" and she threw the pillow back at Asuka, who dodged it. "Yes! You can dodge too, by the way. And we don't take turns." Then she threw a couple of pillows at Rei, who dodged the first but was hit by the second on the chest. By then, Asuka was laughing like a kid in a room full of toys.
Six minutes later, both girls were completely disheveled and the living room was a complete mess. Asuka was laughing at Rei's messy hair. She was rewarded with a little smile from her colleague.
"Stop!" Rei asked, Asuka refrained from throwing her next pillow. "Why? We're having fun, and I still have this!" she showed Rei the pillow at hand.
Rei put a finger to her own lips. "Listen."
Asuka raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What?"
"Shh… listen."
Asuka kept silent for a few seconds. Then she heard music. Rei closed her eyes, evidently enjoying the sound.
Asuka settled on the couch, listening too. It was a soothing melody. She allowed herself to get lost in the music, just as Rei had done.
Fifteen minutes later, the music stopped. "For a perverted idiot, the Third has good taste in music. I'll have to ask him where did he bought his stereo. It really sounds like the player is next door."
"He doesn't own a stereo."
"What? That was him?"
"Yes. He frequently plays at a piece at this hour, while the food is cooking. Sometimes I go to watch him play."
'(Damn, he's very good.)' Asuka thought. Well, two can play that game. She went to her room, and got a little red notebook out, she passed the pages until she found what she was looking for. "A-ha! Box number 35." Quickly, she checked the boxes in her room, no, it wasn't there. "Rei! Have you seen box 35?"
"Yes. It's at Captain Katsuragi's apartment."
"Very well, after dinner, we bring it here. Okay?"
Rei nodded.
Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment
"Oh, yesss!" Misato Katsuragi rubbed her hands together, salivating at the tempting smells coming from Shinji's indisputable domain, the kitchen. The young man had staked his claim on it after Misato's disastrous dinner with Dr. Akagi. Pen Pen had tried to eat the spicy "curry" slop Misato had put on his plate, and after the first and only mouthful, had spent the night staring at such infinite views of an eldritch (sur)reality, that H. P. Lovecraft himself would have literarily envied (not literally, literarily).
A forceful knock on the door heralded the arrival of their two neighbors.
"I'll go, Shinji!"
"Okay." He answered softly, stirring something in a pot.
"Asuka! Rei! Hi!"
Shinji was in the process of setting the table, he put four places. "Hi! I was about to call you."
Asuka plopped in her chair, looking at Shinji with a strange look on her face. "My, you really are the most house-broken specimen of malekind I have ever seen"
"Asuka!" Misato was scandalized.
"What? He is!" she shrugged.
From the other side of the table, Shinji shrugged. "I plead self-defense. I mean, Misato was your guardian in Germany, wasn't she?"
"Hey!" came the outraged answer. "My special curry if famous!"
"Infamous, you mean!" Shinji and Asuka chorused.
"…just because you guys can't appreciate it…" she pouted.
"Misato, you are the only one who likes it that spicy! That sauce you put on it could melt Unit-01's armor!"
"Hmph!" she crossed her arms.
Shinji decided to make peace with his friend. "Ok, ok, I was exaggerating. I apologize. Friends?"
Misato looked at him. "Okay, friends. But don't you ever say that about my curry again."
Shinji laughed, and soon, Asuka joined him, followed by Misato. Only Rei and Pen Pen didn't laugh. Pen Pen wasn't really equipped for it, although he gave it a good shot; and Rei simply didn't know how to laugh. She just smiled, wondering.
Many miles away from Tokyo-3
Meanwhile, in the bottom of a shallow sea, a booming noise displaced water, sand and fishes; and a shadow, crackling with dancing energy, appeared from what seemed to be a glowing cylinder. The shadow belonged to a thing not from Earth, not even from the same universe, but from a place that didn't even exist anymore; animated by a purpose no human being could guess.
Israfel was the name it was known as, only to a select few.
The Seventh Angel had come, answering the call of its creator.
But first, it should grow to its optimum size. It wouldn't take long. Once the cylinder vanished back into inexistence, Israfel settled down in the sand. Absorbing any matter around it; growing, getting heavier, denser.
The sensors at Tokyo-3 wouldn't detect its presence until it moved closer to the city where it could feel its creator.
The Quintessence Plane.
"He is here." The Phantom Stranger whispered. Once more, he revised plans traced years ago, adjusted months ago, and ready to be changed in an instant.
Deadman appeared at his side. "I know I shouldn't say it, but it's a relief. I was getting bored out of my skull… Our good friend Gendo is at the most boringly boring meeting in the history of boring meetings of boredom!"
"Anything useful?"
"Lots of arguing about budget allocations with the UN bigwigs at Tokyo-2. He left the old guy in charge of NERV for at least another week and a half."
"Good, that will keep both occupied."
"Yep, want me to keep watching Gendo?" The ghostly acrobat's voice betrayed his dread.
"No, I think it would be better to watch Fujutsuki until the Commander returns."
"Good! The guy at least has a good taste in interior décor; his office doesn't look like the evil twin version of the Batcave! Erm… can I hijack him?" A measure of enthusiasm returned to Deadman at the mere idea of using his power again. It had been his especiality since he had been murdered back in 1979.
"I don't think so. He is part of the Third Impact conspiracy, even if he's a reluctant participant he is protected from us."
Deadman grimaced, "Okay, but when all this ends, I'm taking a vacation. Somewhere fun."
The Phantom Stranger nodded. "I´ll make sure you are not interrupted."
Deadman stared at him for several seconds, unable to say if the grim sentinel of magic had made a joke, if he was being serious, or maybe, just maybe, he had made a joke while being absolutely serious.
Author Notes
Technically filler, I know, but I'm having fun playing with the changing dynamics Shinji is causing thanks to the Phantom Stranger´s meddling. For starters, I am enjoying having Asuka and Rei almost acting like a second generation of Fire and Ice, but even more extreme in character.
I´ve been having fun putting little clues to several plotlines around. All from the DC side of things.
Next chapter, Israfel arrives!