At the Circus, Part 4
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).
Note: I am in no way nor form a Tarot aficionado, so I won´t get into much detail.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Auditorium
For long, almost unbearable seconds, not a single sound could be heard. Only the hiss of cooling metal and the mix of gravel and concrete settling down on the stage. The liquid nitrogen evaporated quickly, as the fall of the concrete and gravel had broken the container, splashing around the death trap, and being contained by the glassteel around it.
No one dared to even breathe.
To the side of the stage, Shinji saw Oberon and M'Raia holding their breath.
Suddenly, a flash and a loud bang shook everybody out of their lugubrious thoughts.
Two searchlights illuminated the space over the death trap, and there, standing proud on two discs, somehow floating on the air, was Mr. Miracle!
The man smiled widely, his arms triumphantly raised to the heavens. In each hand, he held a piece of chain and a set of handcuffs. He dropped them at the same time, letting them clatter on the ground.
A thunderous applause roared inside the auditorium, as Mr. Miracle hovered above, drinking the applause of the crowd, including a certain red clad ghost, who even tried to whistle his approval.
Laughing, M'Raia threw Mr. Miracle his cape, and with a smooth movement, he caught it and put it over his shoulders, where it billowed behind him.
Mr. Miracle flew over the crowd, manoeuvring easily among the wires and cables, almost like a surfer. There was no way the man was hanging from wires.
Mr. Haly welcomed the escape artist when he returned to the stage, the discs he had been standing on disappeared under his feet with an unheard "Ping!" sound. "Misteeeer Miraaaacle! Ladies and gentlemen!" he bellowed, while the man received a standing ovation that lasted for long minutes. Even Rei was impressed, and she tended to take things as they came. Kensuke's eyes practically gleamed, he had never been so amazed in his life!
Toji turned around to put the stuffed panda on the seat, as he clapped and clapped and clapped. "That was… Ooooo!" He simply had no words to express himself.
Hikari smiled at him. "Thank you for inviting me! It was the most thrilling thing I have ever seen!" Impulsively, she stood on her toes and kissed the jock on the cheek.
Their faces turned crimson. Toji tried to say something, but would have to wait until his brain rebooted. She grabbed her panda and hid her blushing face behind it.
The ovation lasted longer than anybody could have expected, while Mr. Miracle, M'raia and Oberon bowed and bowed.
Mr. Haly signaled the band, and the closing music began, with a parade of all the acts that had preceded the death trap.
The troupe members waved at the crowd, smiling and playing among them. The main performers clapped at each performer as they passed in front of them, sharing an easy camaraderie.
Mr. Miracle and his companions were the last to exit the stage, leaving behind the wreckage of the Four Elements Death Trap. As they passed in front of the VIP section, Mr. Miracle waved at the group, and M'Raia blew a kiss at Shinji who simply blushed a bit.
A couple of sad clowns were the last to appear, brooms and mops in hand. They looked ruefully at the wreckage, then at each other, to the public that was still in the auditorium, and back at the wreck.
Shrugging theatrically, they sat down and began to play cards as the lights on the stage dimmed.
In Route Back to Tokyo-3
"At last!" Kaji pointed forwards, "A charging station!" (1)
"Oh, good!" Misato stopped, grabbing Kaji's shoulder to steady herself, and massaged her calves, "I was about to drop!"
"Let's see if there's signal." Kaji pulled his cell, "Nope. No signal. But maybe we can call a cab. Don't take it wrong, Katsuragi, but I'm not up to carry you all the way to Tokyo-3."
She dope-slapped him. "What did I hear? That the might Ryoji Kaji is getting old or did I hear another thing?"
"Only that I need to get back to the gym, M'am."
"That's what I thought." She smiled mischievously at him.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
"Look, Asuka! We didn't see this tent before! I want to try! I have never had my fortune told!"
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! I don't believe in these things!"
"Just for fun, Asuka! Let's see what the fortune teller says. I'm curious!"
Asuka sighed. "Ayanami?" she looked behind, but her fellow pilot was already on the line to buy more cotton candy. A bodyguard dutifully standing behind her.
"Don't look at me, Red." Toji smirked at her, the stuffed toy under his arm. He pointed at one of the stands. "There's an okonomiyaki with my name in it, and I'm not making it wait. You want something, Hikari?"
"Oh, yes, please, bring me one too. Whatever you choose is fine."
Shinji and Kensuke, plus another bodyguard, were busy speaking with M'Raia, who still had her armour on, but had removed the yellow mask from her face. Asuka turned her nose up in the air, and pulled Hikari towards the tent, both followed by a Section-2 agent.
"Enter Freely and of Your Own Free Will" Hikari read the sign at the entrance. She stepped into the tent, and looked around. Everywhere there was a tapestry, a curtain, a table with a strange sculpture on it. It was so stereotypical that she couldn't supress a delightful chill.
The man looked around, and settled into a resting position by the entrance, discreetly behind the two girls.
A curtain at the back opened, and a tall woman with vaguely western features appeared. "Enter freely and without fear." She said. "Welcome. I'm Madame Xanadu. Please, take seat."
Asuka pushed Hikari to the front. "Ah, good night, Madame Xanadu, I… I mean, we…" The Class Rep stammered.
The woman smiled indulgently. "I can see you have some doubts. Let me read what the cards hold for you."
"Ah, how m… I mean…"
"Don't worry about that. I was told in advance you'd come, the price has been already paid for."
Hikari frowned for a moment, "Asuka, do you think Toji..?" she whispered at her friend
The redheaded pilot shrugged, "I'd say it was Shinji, he was the one who organized this outing."
Hikari sat primly on the offered chair, while Asuka did the same next to her.
Under the vigilant eyes of the Section-2 Agent, Madame Xanadu lit an incense stick, and the perfumed smoke soon filled the place with a delightful smell. The girls didn't notice, but their bodyguard relaxed after a few moments. Although he was still standing, his head hung over his chest. The man had no need to know what would be discussed here. Madame almost smiled to herself, but she had more important things to do.
"Please, mix the cards. Make sure they are completely and truly mixed, not only among them, but also some inverted, please. This is something you must do for an accurate reading."
Hikari did so, awkwardly shuffling the cards. Once she was satisfied, she passed the deck to Madame Xanadu.
The fortune teller set a few cards on the table. "What would you like to know about? School? Love? The Future? The Past?"
"Love, please."
Madame Xanadu smiled, and turned up a card. "Ah, love is very close to you. right now." She turned another, "But there's danger ahead. Great danger, and tribulations." A third card was turned. "But you and your lover will prevail. Not without hardships, I'm sorry to say. Still, your heart is strong and true. Your beloved needs you, without your love and support, he could crumble to pieces. But with your hand in his, he will overcome what is to come."
Hikari's eyes grew wider and wider with each word. "Really, Madame?"
"The cards never lie, my dear child."
"Thank you, Madame Xanadu." Hikari elbowed Asuka discreetly, while the woman reordered the cards so they would be oriented the same way.
She addressed Asuka, still organizing the cards, "Your future is complicated, I can see that even now. I think this deck won't be the best for you." She slid the cards into a velvet bag and tied its drawstrings.
She opened a small, ornate chest, and brought out a beautiful deck of cards, each one decorated with exquisite detail. "This is a very special deck. I made it myself, and it has travelled far and wide." She spread the cards over the table with a precise movement of her hands, showing the exquisite detail painted on each card. "Even though you don't believe in magic, magic believes in you. The cards believe in you."
She put the deck in Asuka's hands. The pilot looked at the designs of several cards. "You're really talented."
"Thank you, it took me a long time to make all the cards. Now, please, mix them just as your friend did. Do not worry about scuffing them, they are very hardy."
Asuka did as asked, getting into the spirit of the place, she felt like a child again.
Madame Xanadu placed the cards in a different spread than she had done with Hikari. The brown-haired girl looked with big eyes.
The woman upturned a card. The Lovers, reversed.
"Must be Kaji!" Asuka whispered to herself.
"There is love in your path. But the card is reversed, your thoughts are muddled, confused. You are chasing after the wrong man." Madame Xanadu said. "There is a choice in your near future, I can see that even without the cards. You need to listen to your heart, really listen, because right now your desire blinds you to the true love. You need to look deeper, child."
Asuka's brow knotted, "Can't you be a little more vague? Aren't you the fortune teller?"
"I am, but there are things you have to see for yourself." She tapped a delicate fingernail on the table, next to the card.
Asuka gasped when she realized the man and the woman in the card looked very familiar.
"It can't be!" the card showed a man and a woman, standing in front of a tree. The woman had long purple hair, the man's was dark brown. Over the woman, a blue symbol with a circle topping a cross. A red star shone above him, inside a circle with an arrow at the upper right. Remembering her studies in college, Asuka recognized the symbols for Feminine and Masculine, or if you were familiar with astronomy or astrology, Venus and Mars. The figures looked just like Misato and Kaji! Even to the ragged scar on Misato's torso! "I just saw this card! It didn't look like this!" (2)
"As I said, this is a very special deck. These cards show you more of what you need to know." (3)
Asuka glared at Madame Xanadu. "This must be some kind of trick."
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth…"
"Don't quote Shakespeare to me."
Madame Xanadu shrugged, "It is true, in any case. There is so much more to you than you yourself think possible. Shall we continue?"
Hesitatingly, Hikari looked at Asuka, "I don't know about you, but I'm very curious."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Very well. Go on."
A new card was turned up. The Tower. "A warning about hubris. Beware of not paying more heed to your pride than to your heart."
Asuka gasped at the image. It was one of the skyscrapers from Tokyo-3, the structure broken and about to fall. The whole city lay in ruins behind it.
The card she had seen before showed a stereotypical medieval tower instead, struck by a lightning bolt. Something was very strange here.
The reading continued. "True love waits for you in the least expected place. He is not your rival, but your equal in the things that really matter. Do not fight against your feelings, fight for them instead."
"Who could it be?" Hikari whispered reverently.
"Kaji is the only one for me, Hikari."
Madame Xanadu turned another card. The Devil, reversed. However, instead of the expected image f the devil, it was a strange winged figure, completely white, the face completely featureless, except for a twisted smile too wide to be natural (4). Had Shinji seen that image, it would have reminded him of the infamous Joker.
"Oh, no!" Hikari gasped.
"Don't worry. In this case, it is a positive thing. You need to look into yourself, release the thoughts and beliefs that chain you."
"Now, lets see who is the one." Madame Xanadu upturned another card. Her smile grew wide. It was the Fool.
"Innocence, spontaneity. A new beginning. He will go with you to places you've never been to, without any fear. He can be both your guide and your companion."
Asuka kept silent for a long time, looking at the card. The figure in it looked incredibly familiar, with an almond-shaped face, innocent blue eyes, and a mop of brown hair. The figure walked happily towards a precipice.
"Asuka, he looks just like…"
"Yeah, just like Shinji." She said ruefully. "It can't be, he is just a little pervert."
Madame Xanadu shrugged. "There is a little of a pervert in everybody. Who knows? Maybe his kink will complement yours."
"Enough about him. What else do you got?"
Madame turned up another card. The Magician. "Ah. Interesting." The card showed a man in front of a table, on it rested a dagger, that looked almost like a progressive knife, a strange wand made of two spirals entwined, a cylinder suspiciously alike to an Entry Plug, and a strange symbol that looked like an inverted triangle with seven eyes, four at the left side, three on the right. The man had a blue cloak with a cowl that covered half his face in shadow, a golden medallion hung from his neck. His upraised right hand held a kind of arrow, with a head at each side. His left hand pointed downwards.
"What does that mean, Madame?" Hikari asked reverently.
"Power or inspiration. Or maybe both. You'll need to choose wisely. A Stranger will come to you when you need a guide to find your way. Heed his advice."
Madame collected the cards. "That's all I can tell you. I hope you'll find what you seek, what you need, and what you are destined for."
"Wait a minute." Asuka blurted. "Let me see those cards again."
Madame put the deck back on the table. "Go ahead, child."
Asuka examined the cards again, looking for the ones that had been part of her reading. As she found them, she looked at them carefully, Hikari at her side, looking at them curiously.
The cards had returned to their generic images.
"It must be a trick!"
"If it is, it must be a very good one, don't you think?" The fortune teller smiled. "But ask yourself a question." She put the cards back into the ornate box. "What if it isn't?" She looked at the entrance, and both girls saw their assigned bodyguard standing at the entrance, his posture so relaxed it almost looked as if the man was asleep on his feet. "Think on it, will you?"
Madame Xanadu snapped her fingers, and with a shudder, the bodyguard straightened up. "I thank you for your visit. May the fates be kind to you." She stood up, signalling the reading had finished.
As both girls stood up, Hikari bowed, "Thank you, Madame Xanadu." Discreetly, she kicked Asuka, who looked a bit distracted.
"Ah, oh, yes, yes. Thank you, Madame."
They came out the tent, the girls deep in thought, and the bodyguard a bit confused. '…Man, I have to ask what kind of incense is that. I feel as if I had napped for an hour…' He decided to come back his next free day.
Tokyo-3
Japan
C.C. Haly and Norton Bros. Circus
Parking Lot
"Thank you, Shinji, it was quite an evening!" Hikari smiled at the Third Child, her hand holding Toji's.
"I'm really glad you had fun." He turned towards the ranking agent. "Can we get our friends home before returning to Misato's?"
"Sure. Not a problem."
The group boarded the non-descript van that had been assigned to them for the outing. While the boys discussed the show with Rei, Asuka and Hikari kept silent, thinking on the card reading. Hikari decided then to support Toji if Madame Xanadu's vague warnings came true; while Asuka decided to test the fortune teller's idea about Shinji.
Tokyo-3
Japan
Ayanami-Soryu Apartment
Later
Once the civilians had been safely delivered to their respective homes, the Agents accompanied the pilots to their apartments before retiring for the night. The team of regular agents resumed their distant vigilance, while the bodyguards returned to NERV HQ to file their reports.
Once in their apartment, Asuka went directly to her bedroom. "Okay, it is time." She checked the cardboard box content once more, and satisfied it was just as she expected, she walked out. "Hey, Wonder Girl, I'm going to Misato's. I'll be back later, I just have to check on something."
"Very well." Rei nodded, stretching her arms, she was tired, but had no need to sleep. A strange combination, she would have to ask Asuka later if it meant something.
Tokyo-3
Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
Living Room
"Okay, Third Child." Asuka put her card box on the table, opened it quickly, and took out something covered by a generous amount of bubble-wrap. "Time to show you what I'm capable of."
She revealed an old, but well cared for, violin case. "I've heard you play many classical pieces since I moved with Wonder Girl, including Bach's Cello Suite #1 In G." She opened the case, "Very impressive." She raised an eyebrow, "What are you waiting for? Bring it!"
Shinji nodded, and brought his cello case to the living room. A few minutes later, both had tuned their instruments, checked their bows, and satisfied, settled down, ready to play.
"Something in particular, Asuka?"
"Yes, but not classical. A long time ago, I heard that the true measure of a master is the ability to improvise. I happen to agree." She put a metronome on the table, and set it to a moderately fast rhythm. "I'm not planning on going that far. So, a compromise, I chose an old pop song, Mama liked it a lot, and as you went to remember your mother earlier today, I thought about mine, and so, my choice."
The metronome tic-tacked its rhythm. "Normally, you'd start before me, but I want you to recognize the song first. It's still quite popular and has been covered many times in just as many genres. I'll play the singing part, you do the rest. Impress me." The device ticked seven times, and with the eight tic, Asuka stamped her heel on the floor. She looked at Shinji, and both nodded. Seven tics, stomp. Seven tics, stomp. "Got it?" She asked. Shinji nodded, and readied his bow, setting his fingers on the strings.
Asuka continued to stomp her heel to the rhythm. She raised her bow, and began to play, mouthing the lyrics.
Shinji recognized the song (5). He began to play, mouthing the words too. Asuka stared at him, her blue eyes mesmerized him. The tune was simple and repetitive. At least, at the beginning.
He realized there was a keyboard solo at the middle of the song, and while he allowed his fingers to continue the basic groundwork of the song, he was busy remembering the original solo, and adapting it for his own instrument.
When the moment came, Shinji smiled tightly. He attacked the music with controlled enthusiasm, while Asuka played discrete notes to accompany Shinji's cello.
The solo ended, and they continued the song.
As they played, Asuka realized they were not competing. There was no need to be better than him. So he could, maybe, go over her synch score one day. So what? She would surpass him soon enough.
He was not trying to be better than her, he was trying to be better than himself. He was trying to help her be even better. He wasn't aiming at being the best EVA Pilot. He had said so back when the Seventh Angel had humiliated both of them.
He was thinking ahead, beyond the Angel War.
Her fingers now played by themselves, she kept on looking at him. At his eyes. She didn't know what she saw there before. But now, she finally knew.
There was a gentle determination there. His fire was not a blazing inferno, consuming everything and anything in its path. His fire was the fire of a hearth. The fire of a home.
The flame of a candle.
The light of a beacon.
She knew then that if she got close to that fire, it wouldn't burn her. But it would keep her warm against cold and storm.
Madame Xanadu was right.
Her crush on Kaji was just that, a crush. A child's game. And if she stayed in that road, she would be consumed by her own fire.
Shinji was certainly immature. But so what? She was too.
She finally faced her own truth.
A relationship with Kaji would be a race to mature. To raise herself to his standards. To run after him.
Shinji didn't judge her measure. He accepted her.
They kept on playing. Both enjoying the moment.
When they finished, both rested their bows against their shoulders. An accidental synch both noticed immediately.
Asuka struggled to contain a mischievous grin, but couldn't do so when she saw him doing exactly the same.
She raised an eyebrow in challenge.
He pressed his lips together for a moment, nodded, and began to play again.
It was something she had not heard before. Ten seconds of complicated accords. He kept on playing, but now with simpler notes. He looked at her, a mute challenge.
She couldn't resist, and improvised an answer. Her notes were no less complex than his.
They went the same way for a long while. Each racing ahead, then pacing themselves so the other could catch up.
It was almost a duel.
But it gradually became a duet. (6)
Tokyo-3
Japan
Ayanami-Soryu Apartment
Living Room
Rei Ayanami, at the other side of the wall, sat in silence, holding a bottle of water.
Her eyes closed, she listened to the music coming from the other side of the wall, enjoying it immensely.
She found the addition of the violin enhanced the music.
Without even realizing she was doing so, she memorized each note. Later on, she would have to ask her fellow pilots for the name of the piece they were playing, but in the meanwhile, her almost perfect memory served a purpose very different to the one her creator intended.
For the first time in her life, she memorized something just for her own enjoyment.
Tokyo-3
Japan
Katsuragi-Ikari Apartment
Living Room
(Spiritual Plane)
When the music finished, Deadman clapped inaudibly. "(Amazing! Encore! Encore!)"
Author Notes
(1) Considering the amount of car batteries Misato "Requisitioned" back in the first episode, I think it's safe to assume most, if not all, cars in Tokyo-3 and Japan are electric.
(2) One of the most unusual merchandise items I've ever seen about NGE is a deck of Tarot cards! However, the characters in the cards didn't correspond to the meanings I wanted, therefore, the changes.
(3) The cards in Madame Xanadu did change images during the reading she does in The Spectre issue 17 (Apr 1994)
(4) The Devil in the NGE Tarot deck is actually Unit-01, not an MPE.
(5) I was looking for violin/cello duets for this scene, and found a few string instruments covers of a particular song I really liked. Most of them are for string quartet, but I think violin and cello are enough to play Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" without much trouble. I found the lyrics strangely appropriate for the two pilots!
(6) Having the two pilots bonding over music was inspired by "Advice and Trust", by Panther2g/Strygpia.